Director Charlie McDowell trades the convoluted, sci-fi concepts of The One I Love and The Discovery for a streamlined thriller with Windfall, in which a burglar (Jason Segel) breaks into the desert vacation home of a tech billionaire (Jesse Plemons) and his wife (Lily Collins), only to be surprised when they make an unplanned visit. Segel registers the most strongly, even though we learn the least about his character. Clearly driven by a deep anger, but bumbling a bit even before the couple arrives, he’s a man unmoored, something Segel communicates with stammers and panicked stares. Plemons amuses as the arrogant billionaire, dripping with disdain for his captor, but both he and Collins are saddled with speeches explaining the essences of their characters, as if they weren’t trusted to do so in their performances. Once we’re given that information, we pretty much see where Windfall is going, even though it takes a couple of wild turns. Can a film be unpredictable and yet somehow unsurprising?
(3/23/2022)
