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Written by: Jesse Armstrong
Directed by: Jesse Armstrong
Starring: Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, Ramy Youssef
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
A group of billionaire friends get together against the backdrop of a rolling international crisis.
Verdict
This hypothesizes what tech billionaires do while hanging out. There's a lot of talk, and you wonder if they truly believe all of their own nonsense. They exist in a realm where the typical, trivial matters don't apply. At several points you question if they're truly friends or grouped together just due to their wealth. It's an intriguing character study of men that are so sheltered they must invent problems. Their wealth has made them self-absorbed and delusional; believing in their own grandeur. They scary thing is how close to the truth it might be.
It depends.
Review
Creator of Succession, this is Jesse Armstrong's directorial debut.
A group of billionaire founders that don't seem to like each other have a weekend getaway at Souper's (Jason Schwartzman) new vacation home he's dubbed Mountainhead. The gathering includes Ven (Cory Michael Smith), Jeff (Ramy Youssef), and Randall (Steve Carell). Souper is the poorest of the group, trying to impress the others and only getting veiled insults claimed to be jokes.
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| Cory Michael Smith, Steve Carrell, Ramy Youssef, Jason Schwartzman play Ven, Randy, Jeff, Souper |
These guys are rich and have everything, but they're still bragging about how much money and stuff they have. They continually try to prove their greatness to each other. They're so powerful the U.S. President calls them. Despite that, they can't even let small things go. Souper's water goes out and he insists it's not the water pressure, bragging about the pressure. It's such an inconsequential thing about which to brag.
Ven is head of Tramm, the largest social media company. He's trying to convince the others that Tramm is a net positive, but it's unclear if he's trying to persuade the others or himself. The company just released new tools allowing users to create AI videos that people are mistaking for real. It's causing unrest and violence, and he's trying to talk Jeff into selling the AI tools he developed to censor the videos.
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| Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, Steve Carrell, Ramy Youssef play Souper, Ven, Randy, Jeff |
They talk about taking over, becoming their own nation; not just company founders but the originators of a country. It seems like they're enamored with their own prestige and power. The audience is left wondering if it's a hypothetical, a game, or they might just be that detached from reality. They think they can take over the world, and they likely do have the resources and power to do such a thing... when the world is stable. When the world is in unrest, money doesn't matter. The power real and perceived is based on a stable world. Tramm's new AI video tools are causing rebellion and murder.
Jeff wants to push Ven out due to how he's managed his company. Jeff is concerned at the damage Tramm is doing to the world. Should the other founders intervene? This is a petty riff between friends or rivals, but they're billionaires whose machinations ripple around the world. In response Randy, Ven, and Souper consider killing Jeff as he wants to stop the 'future.' It's wild as a figurative statement becomes literal. Part of this is Randy's obsession with a post-human world and his belief that Ven will help ensure the next step. Randy wants to live longer and post-human is his answer. Is it reasonable or likely? It seems delusional. They've bought into their own perceived importance.
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| Ramy Youssef, Cory Michael Smith play Jeff, Ven |
I wouldn't assume people think like this, but these guys have a level of influence where people yield to them in a way the average person never encounters. This is comical yet dark. Do the incredibly wealthy become so self absorbed? Ven, Randy, and Souper attempt to kill Jeff in such a silly way. It would be a comical scene if they weren't actively trying to murder. These are tech geniuses, but it's madness. The next day they apologize to Jeff with a 'I'm sorry you're upset' and 'Sorry you think we did something wrong.' These aren't guys that ever have to take blame or apologize. Is this what they do on the weekends?
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