It’s the ladies turn in the world of corporate greed, in Meera Menon’s newest thriller “Equity”. When Senior investment banker Naomi Bishop (Anna Gunn) is passed over for a promotion at her firm, she fights for the opportunity to take a start-up public, hoping this promising IPO will secure her a place at the firm’s highest level. But when an employee at the start-up raises questions about a possible crack in the company’s walls, Naomi must decide whether to investigate rumors that may compromise the deal, or push forward with the confidence her superiors expect. Soon Naomi finds herself tangled in a web of deception and office politics and begins to question if there is anyone she can trust. As the IPO draws closer, Naomi sees that the choices she has made for her career have left her very much alone. Forced to reexamine the rules of the cutthroat world she has always loved she finds herself in a fight for her very survival. “Equity” is rated R for adult language.
Screenwriters Amy Fox, Sarah Megan Thomas, and Alysia Reiner offer a shrewd and unapologetic look at the insider world of bank trading for women, giving their sex a voice that offers a welcome change of attitude to the overdone genre. “Equity” is so much more than just another example of the deceptive nature of greed, and the kinds of transformations that its characters go through with their thirsts for it. This is a movie that shows off the kind of handicaps that women in such a male dominated work force suffer through every day, and what better time than now to offer such a modernist approach? A movie about women made by women is the perfect concept to tackle these issues, and through 95 minutes of mental anguish in deceit, Meera Menon expertly crafts a financial thriller that builds itself patiently through scenes of stylish and seductively sexy ambiance. “Equity” certainly won’t make you feel any better about the money handlers of the world, but greed always wins out in a story with a conscience, and Menon’s portrait of strong resiliency offers much to commend about this picture.
The visual and artistic integrity from only a second-time film maker are quite impressive. With claustrophobic personal shots from cut-to-cut, Menon channels her inner Steven Soderbergh. The exteriors use dark backgrounds to cast shadows over the very law-breaking details that the film entails. The movie’s style in concept takes some very rich methods in cinematography that this critic appreciated thoroughly throughout the movie’s ever-changing dynamics. Menon never settles for just one establishing shot with each scene, she shoots the unfolding drama from every point of view, opting to showcase everybody’s angle in the many scenes littered with characters. I also greatly enjoyed the framing work, especially in one parking garage scene that really tackled imagination with character dialogue transitions. For a woman who has only been working in film for five years, Meera shows great promise in her subtlety to fish out the tension in every scene. Couple this with a pace-setting musical score by Samuel Jones and Alexis Marsh, and you bring out the panic building to unsettling levels. Jones and Marsh feel this story to a tee with their ominous tones, and do so in repetition, crafting a soundtrack for the hell of a board room.
The screenplay’s material is going to be the hardest sell to readers of my reviews. While I followed along efficiently, there will be some problems in understanding and relating to the stock trading talk here. There is a lot of corporate lingo used throughout the film, and it can slow down the pacing of the movie, due to the viewer’s decreasing interest in a foreign subject. Some of the positives that I found in the second and third acts of the movie certainly increase the soap opera style drama of the movie. One big plot twist details a deception about an hour into the movie, and I kind of wish they would’ve played this out as a mystery, setting up a shocking finale. There’s plenty to stay interested in throughout the remainder of the film, but I feel like the last minutes of the movie decoding this betrayal could’ve made for a shocking exit for moviegoers from the theater. There’s also a certain subplot with Anna Gunn’s Naomi that focuses on her past, but never gets closure. This story arc matters a lot, especially when you consider the way our characters finish with this film. It matters because it could play to history repeating itself for Naomi, but sadly this direction is never exploited.
As for the performances, we get a strong female dominated cast that is headlined by two enthralling performances in a battle of the sexes on-screen. Anna Gunn’s transition to the big screen from her phenomenal work on TV’s “Breaking Bad” is a smooth one, and that’s because of her dependency to building a character whose desire for money is only surpassed by her workaholic attitude. This might sound polarizing, but Gunn magnifies the personality of this character ten-fold by juggling a subtle combination of vulnerability and expertise. James Purefoy is also very gripping as Gunn’s love interest and co-worker in the movie. Purefoy has always been my favorite part of the many roles in movies that he has taken on, and once again he oozes slithery sleaziness in a role that feels right at home for him. He always brings out the real detest in every role he takes on, and I feel that this is a lost art in the era of social networking documentation. For the first time in a long time, it’s cool to look at an actor and hate him for the detestable characters he has taken on, and we have Purefoy to thank for that.
Money is the soul motivation for women to get up every day, and “Equity” relates that concept as endearing and acceptable. Menon’s breakthrough work is a shout in the right direction for women everywhere. It’s a chilling, daring, and informative spin that doesn’t just break the glass ceiling, it shatters it. A feminist financial portfolio of power and deceit that you can happily invest in.
7/10