Dark crime comedies are extremely tough. We can all agree that early Coen Brothers did it best, right? Or at least they’re up there with films such as Blood Simple and Fargo. You get a sense that director Potsy Ponciroli watched A LOT of Coens while shooting Greedy People, a film title that is as spot-on as it gets. Along with writer Mike Vukadinovich, the film certainly looks like something the Coens might’ve done themselves if they were still a working duo. But Ponciroli finds the right blend of avarice, violence, and caustic humor, led by an off-the-rails performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Gordon-Levitt is at times terrifying, ridiculous, and offensive as Officer Terry Brogan, restless veteran cop in the peaceful town of Providence. Terry is unlike any character JGL has played before. A corrupt but dangerous lawman who learns Mandarin (don’t you dare call it “Chinese”) out of boredom, inadvertently makes off-color jokes, bogarts free coffee and donuts from the neighborhood clerks, and presents an air of toxic masculinity you can practically smell. He’s been partnered up with a newbie, rookie cop Will, newly arrived in town with his pregnant wife, Paige. Will and Paige are played by Himesh Patel and Lily James, reuniting once again after the Beatles rom-com Yesterday. There’s something about these two together that I just enjoy, and clearly, so do directors who keep pairing them up.
All that Will wants to do is move on past an unfortunate family legacy and take care of Paige and their impending child. Providence would seem to be the place to do it. The sleepy town doesn’t offer much excitement, although Terry fatefully warns him that one of the few rules is not to kill anybody unless absolutely necessary: paperwork is a troublesome bitch. Unfortunately, while Terry is on break having a lunchtime quickie with his current fling, Will mistakes a police call for a dangerous burglary. Rushing in headlong and startling the woman (Traci Lords) inside, she overreacts which leads to a brawl she is easily winning. But then there’s an accident, Will is freed but she winds up dead. Terry arrives and is ready to turn in his new partner until they discover a missing stash of money worth $1 million. They quickly stage the scene to look like a botched robbery in order to keep the loot for themselves. There’s just one problem: both are greedy and both are idiots.
Greedy People introduces a number of unsavory characters who are willing to kill for that money. Tim Blake Nelson, who worked with Ponciroli on the recent Western film Old Henry, plays the dead woman’s husband who wanted her dead in the first place. Nina Arianda plays Nelson’s scheming, shockingly dangerous mistress. The film features a second ex-porn star, Simon Rex, as flamboyant masseuse Keith. Rex can also be seen this week in Zoe Kravitz’s sex-fueled thriller Blink Twice. This is a film silly enough to feature Jim Gaffigan and Jose Maria Yazpik as rival hitmen, The Irishman and The Colombian, who live next door to one another.
It’s almost like you’re experiencing two separate movies. On one side moronic keystone coppers tangle with dumbbell criminals. On the other, Uzo Aduba plays police Captain Murphy, a straight-laced but grieving officer who is the only one serious enough to take this mysterious murder investigation seriously.
Greedy People doesn’t have any business being as fun as it is, especially considering the dark turn the film ultimately takes. Sometimes dark comedies such as this lean too heavy into humor that it dulls a vicious edge, but not here. Greedy People‘s comedy serves to lower your defenses for the shocking body count, as characters you’ve come to really like begin to fall. For those who need to scratch that old-school Coen Brothers itch, this is your best bet of the summer.
Greedy People opens in theaters on August 23rd.
