I absolutely love movies like this. Greedy People is a dark crime comedy in the vein of Coen Brothers Fargo. It’s about Will, a rookie cop who just moved to the small town of Providence. To help him learn the ropes, the police chief partners Will with Terry, a sleazy veteran living the good life in this sleepy heaven on Earth. However, they will soon stumble upon a crime scene that will change their lives forever. What follows is pretty unpredictably predictable: dead bodies, large sums of cash, love, lust, and everything else that makes life worth living. So, we’ve got ourselves a classic sprawling tale of a small town crime sending shockwaves and changing everything.
Just what the doctor ordered after two subpar werewolf movies. At least for me. Greedy People features a formidable cast led by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Himesh Patel. We also have Lily James, Jim Gaffigan, and none other than Tim Blake Nelson. He’s there to make that Coen Brothers connection unmistakable and give an excellent performance. The script along with the character development was quite good. I can’t stress enough just how important these elements are in a movie like this. You have to create the right characters for the whole thing to work properly.
Just recently I started watching RIff Raff, a movie featuring an even better cast and the same atmosphere and style. However, I had to turn it off after about thirty minutes because the script and the character development were just off. Here, the chemistry between Gordon-Levitt, Patel, and James was excellent. Uzo Aduba was just as good and it was so good to see her in a different type of role than in Orange is the New Black. Girl’s got range. Add to this an idyllic setting and gorgeous cinematography and you got yourself an engaging sleek-looking little movie.
Moreover, you simply can’t guess where the story is going. Greedy People blends several subgenres: crime comedy, dark comedy, and murder mystery with a hint of neo-noir. More importantly, it’s willing to go places. That’s all I’m going to say as I don’t want to spoil anything. I am so sick and tired of movies like this trying to play it safe. Greedy People was filmed in Southport, North Carolina and I want to move there so badly. I know I would probably be bored once I get there but a girl can dream, right? Well, after all that praise, I have to say that there are some minor tonal and script issues here.
Nothing major but things could have been tighter. Since this is Mike Vukadinovich’s debut, I’m willing to let them slide. And I’m expecting great things from my man Mike. Now, I did try watching Old Henry, director Potsy Ponciroli’s previous movie and his debut but I just couldn’t get into it. The premise is quite good, so you might want to check it out. While we’re on that topic, I also must mention Gordon-Levitt’s neo-noir Greek adventure Killer Heat. Based on a novel by Jo Nesbø, the movie is eye candy but too loose and predictable to garner a recommendation on Subversive Rabbit.
I mean, I did watch it in its entirety so there’s that. Finally, if you’re looking for something like Greedy People, you should check out LaRoy, Texas. Starring John Magaro and Steve Zahn, it’s another cool little small town crime movie with hitman, money, twists, and all the rest of the good stuff.
Director: Potsy Ponciroli
Writer: Mike Vukadinovich
Cast: Himesh Patel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lily James, Uzo Aduba, Tim Blake Nelson, Simon Rex
Fun Facts: The original title for the movie was The Problem with Providence and despite the filming being complete back in 2022, Greedy People was released a whole two years later, in 2024.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20201748/
