Film No. 56 (2016) September 15th. 6.30 PM LUNA Paradiso, Northbridge.
"I work for the largest investment bank in the world. I've taken nine companies public. I'm glad it's finally acceptable for women to talk about success." (Naomi Bishop (Anna Gunn) talks about her success in an all womens' forum).
Equity is being promoted as a female version of The Wolfe of Wall Street. Nothing could be further from the truth. But then again that's promotion for you. The industry is all about "bums on seats" and surely the false comparison may succeed on that front. For starters Equity is a fictional narrative about women working legitimately in an industry crawling with people looking to take short cuts to achieve wealth.
The problem for me with Equity was that the plodding storyline and soundtrack failed to match the performances of Anna Gunn and her two co-leads Alysia Reiner and Sarah Megan Thomas. Naomi Bishop (Gunn) works for a Merchant Bank and prides herself in the fact she has floated 9 companies as public commodities with success. There is however one dark corner alluded to a couple early scenes; it's fleeting but we are suppose to get the idea it's dented her confidence.
Erin Manning (Thomas) is coveting what Bishop has and feels neglected as Naomi's P.A. Enter Samantha, ex-school buddy of Bishop's who is also very conveniently "watching" the man (James Purefoy) in Bishop's life who is also a banker known for sabotaging impending public companies the gain advantage from the market later. Oh, and there is the sub-plot of Bishop seeking promotion. Randell (Lee Tergesen), her boss, however only plays games (Janga, quite literally) with Naomi's emotions.
Meera Menon has made an ernest film in Equity. It will push buttons, especially in women who continue to battle workplace barriers of varied kinds. I still can't make up my mind whether she is saying "if you can't beat them join them" via the Reiner character or "we're destined because of our gender" via Gunn's Bishop. Melon's Farah Goes Bang was a quirky likeable film of the smaller kind. Perhaps with Equity, the main stream approach repressed her creativity. Or perhaps I was craving for more from this solid but stifled film. 7GUMS.
The problem for me with Equity was that the plodding storyline and soundtrack failed to match the performances of Anna Gunn and her two co-leads Alysia Reiner and Sarah Megan Thomas. Naomi Bishop (Gunn) works for a Merchant Bank and prides herself in the fact she has floated 9 companies as public commodities with success. There is however one dark corner alluded to a couple early scenes; it's fleeting but we are suppose to get the idea it's dented her confidence.
Erin Manning (Thomas) is coveting what Bishop has and feels neglected as Naomi's P.A. Enter Samantha, ex-school buddy of Bishop's who is also very conveniently "watching" the man (James Purefoy) in Bishop's life who is also a banker known for sabotaging impending public companies the gain advantage from the market later. Oh, and there is the sub-plot of Bishop seeking promotion. Randell (Lee Tergesen), her boss, however only plays games (Janga, quite literally) with Naomi's emotions.
Meera Menon has made an ernest film in Equity. It will push buttons, especially in women who continue to battle workplace barriers of varied kinds. I still can't make up my mind whether she is saying "if you can't beat them join them" via the Reiner character or "we're destined because of our gender" via Gunn's Bishop. Melon's Farah Goes Bang was a quirky likeable film of the smaller kind. Perhaps with Equity, the main stream approach repressed her creativity. Or perhaps I was craving for more from this solid but stifled film. 7GUMS.
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