Shadows on the Wall | Mountainhead

Mountainhead

dir-scr Jesse Armstrong
prd Frank Rich, Lucy Prebble, Tony Roche, Jon Brown, Will Tracy
with Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Ramy Youssef, Cory Michael Smith, Daniel Oreskes, Hadley Robinson, David Thompson, Ali Kinkade, Ava Kostia, Alex Pena, Amie MacKenzie, Larkin Bell
release US 31.May.25
25/US HBO 1h48

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Artificial intelligence is the catalyst for this political comedy-drama from Jesse Armstrong, who specialises in rapid-fire acerbic dialog (see Succession). This adds bite to a story of extraordinarily privileged men whose self-confidence is unbounded. With four characters in a single location, this could easily be a stage play. So even if it's very talky, and struggles to maintain momentum, this is a bracingly current discussion packed with important observations.

Amid global turmoil sparked by a new AI tool, Souper (Schwartzman) hosts fellow tech billionaires Randy (Carell), Venis (Smith) and Jeff (Youssef) at his spectacular Rocky Mountain mansion. News headlines centre on how Venis' new app creates deep-fake videos that have generated political and economic chaos. But they don't feel responsible for the escalating violence. Or at least that's what they're trying to convince themselves. When the water stops flowing from Souper's taps, they relocate to the bunker/game room to plan their next moves. And when things look desperate, they turn on each other.

Feeling above everyone else on earth, these men engage in barbed banter that mixes camaraderie and respect with dismissive loathing. They also revel in their financial fortunes. All four are attempting to buy immortality; Randy refuses to accept a grim diagnosis from his doctor (Oreskes), telling him to "do better". As the group's papa bear, Randy seems like the voice of reason, but none see the world's population as real people, only as tools to help them create a new future.

Carell, Schwartzman, Youssef and Smith deliver superbly offhanded performances as essentially unlikeable characters, making the most of the smart conversation ricocheting between them. Randy, Souper and Jeff are dubious about Venis' gung-ho determination to push through this crisis and take on the White House if needed. But Jeff's conscience is even more threatening. It's fascinating to watch them simply ignore their vulnerabilities, including a few moments of mental instability.

Cleverly, the way the public fears new technology is the major obstacle these guys see in their way. So even as the world burns, Venis urges his friends not to panic, saying that the ghastly news footage is so hyper-real that it can't be real. Clearly, atrocities are actually happening, but these guys see this as cathartic for humanity. So their biggest worry is that one of them might hit the brakes. Where this goes involves some comically nasty Shakespearian plotting. This makes the film entertaining and astute, but not particularly hopeful.

themes, language, violence 31.May.25

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