The Big Picture

Potsy Ponciroli finds morbid humor in small-town crimes.
Lily James, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Himesh Patel lead a strong ensemble cast.
The story’s morality tale culminates in a divisive third act.

Potsy Ponciroli’s Greedy People doesn’t hide its influences. Hitmen, seafood merchants, and law enforcement are tangled in a Coen-coded caper set against an otherwise sleepy rural locale. Fargo or Burn After Reading are easy comparison points, but Greedy People is more in line with the endless supply of inspired knockoffs where chaos reigns until the credits roll. Mike Vukadinovich’s screenplay maps a comical farce into a dreadfully cutthroat finale, but it’s the film’s closing cynicism that makes the otherwise light-hearted murder fare dissolve with a strange aftertaste.

Greedy People (2024) Greedy People follows two bumbling cops who discover a whole lot of money after an altercation ends in disaster. Rather than report it, they decide to stage the scene and take the cash for themselves, only to discover that this only brings more problems than they could have ever anticipated. Release Date August 23, 2024 Director Potsy Ponciroli Main Genre Comedy Writers Mike Vukadinovich

What Is ‘Greedy People’ About?

Himesh Patel stars as Will Shelly, Providence’s newest resident and the police force’s latest addition. Will leaves his pregnant wife Paige (Lily James) home to unpack boxes and heads to the station, where he meets his looser-cannon partner, Terry (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Everything starts innocently enough as Terry shows Will where to score free coffee and donuts, since Providence is your prototype coastal paradise with little excitement — until Will stumbles upon a dead body. The unprecedented act of violence ripples throughout Providence’s tight-knit community as everyone starts spinning their theories. The problem is, only Will and Terry know the truth — or at least they think they do. Turns out Providence isn’t so squeaky-clean after all.

Greedy People isn’t daft enough to spoil its mystery in the film’s first act. The sequence of events that befall Will when he answers what he identifies as a burglary call is absurd — but it’s hardly the reason. Ponciroli giddily complicates a straightforward accidental death with adultery, bounty contracts, and unstable neighbors in a way that’s enjoyably harebrained. All parties involved are driven by money — owed, stolen, or found — as Vukadinovich comments on the recklessness of anyone who lucks into life-changing riches. Will and Terry are playing with fire due to their selfish actions, which morphs Greedy People into a suburban fable about deserving consequences that karma won’t let you outrun.

While Providence’s cast of caricatures is a tad simplistic, the film’s ensemble is its crown jewel. Patel crushes as the anxious straight man, Gordon-Levitt’s obnoxious metalhead keeps us on our toes, and James lets curiosity get the better of Paige. Then there are the supporting roles, like Tim Blake Nelson’s shrimp-peddling Wallace Chetlo — the deceased’s husband — or Simon Rex’s handsy masseuse. Jim Gaffigan and José María Yazpik play hired killers with territory boundary issues. Uzo Aduba grounds tension as the leading officer who could spoil Will and Terry’s quickly unraveling scheme. Actors fall into rhythm as Providence’s inhabitants start pointing blame in all directions, tiptoeing around traps, or stumbling into them with catastrophic results. Given the sheer number of roles, I’d argue that some characters got short-changed screen time — but what’s available is a hoot.

‘Greedy People’ Is a Thriller That Looses a Bit of Steam
Image via Mister Smith Entertainment

The problem becomes, as the film twists into a bigger knot, pitting despicable people against their worst intentions, Greedy People overplays its shock value. To informatively reveal why would be a spoiler (or multiple spoilers), but there’s a rapid wrap-it-up deflation about the film’s mounting payoffs. Everyone deserves some justice, yet Ponciroli only operates in one mode. One gunshot, two gunshots, and so on and so forth. Definitive messaging might strike some viewers as appropriate, but I found the bad-day-gone-worse culmination somewhat silly after it’s all said and done. Rest assured, this is not the intended result. Once Ponciroli stops aiming for chuckles and seriousness takes over, the film’s DNA rearranges, which is an odd switcheroo so late in the game.

Truthfully, Greedy People is an odd configuration that flips between “ordinary” and “cartoonish” without meeting in the middle. Multiple contract killers vying for dominance doesn’t snugly fit into the Pleasantville-esque universe. An intentional canine death halfway through reads like a cheap attempt to define instability. The film’s score is plucky at awkward times, only adding to the tonal miscues that eventually drown the last few scenes in murk. Ponciroli’s better at establishing calamity than seeing arcs over the finish line, carried by Patel and Gordon-Levitt’s headbutting chemistry early in their partnership.

Greedy People joins the list of decent Fargo lookalikes alongside A Simple Plan, The Ice Harvest, and many more. Ponciroli directs a heavy-hitting cast that pulls its weight, although some characters seem shafted when comparing screen times. Gordon-Levitt is my MVP as the reckless wildcard who could blow multiple covers with a single outburst. He’s balancing humor and instability on a knife’s edge — something Ponciroli otherwise struggles to accomplish. Greedy People is somewhat tonally amiss, but not long enough for the experience to self-destruct. It’s a fine working backward whodunit from the inside out.

REVIEW Greedy People (2024) Greedy People is an average small-time crime thriller that’s at its best when finding the humor in dead bodies and stolen cash, but struggles when the tone converts to a more straightforward darkness with dire stakes.ProsPatel and Gordon-Levitt complement each other’s roles.The pitch-black humor is a nice touch.Earns the proper comparisons to similar movies. ConsTakes the easy way out.Never as good as its most prevalent inspirations.The last impression isn’t as good as its first.

Greedy People is in theaters and is available to stream on VOD in the U.S. starting August 23.

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