'Equity' review: 'All female Wall Street' flick is slick, but can't close the deal
Meera Menon's got style.
That much is apparent with the up-and-coming director's second feature film, the dramatic and ambitious Equity, which screened on Tuesday night at the Tribeca Film Festival. However, despite its visual appeal, the film lacks a lot of the punch, dramatic heft and thrilling pacing required to keep the audience motivated to care.
Dubbed by many, including cast members in a panel after the screening, as "the first all female Wall Street movie," the film makes its case both on and off screen. Aside from Menon, Equity has a female screenwriter (Amy Fox), leads (Anna Gunn, Sarah Megan Thomas and Alysia Reiner) and producers (Candy Straight, along with Thomas and Reiner).
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It's also got the kind of material that pummels the Bechdel Test. Even if there are ever two women talking about men, you can rest assured knowing it's strictly business.
Menon's crisp direction works with the subject matter, a delicate and buttoned-up IPO deal. But at times it's a little too polished, with expositional dialogue that'll tweak the ear of any savvy moviegoer, and the overall narrative builds too slowly.
Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) anchors the film as Naomi Bishop, a Wall Street banker on a slight decline who needs her next IPO, for a company called Cachet,c to net big bucks. Opposing her is Samantha (Reiner), a lawyer who thinks she and her moneyed boyfriend Michael Connor (a smirky James Purefoy) are up to no good. And then you have Erin (Thomas), Bishop's loyal VP who's itching to move up in the world.
On paper, it sounds like a sleek melting pot of Wall Street drama that'll thrill you. But Menon plays it too slowly, sticking to a more refined storyline. That's certainly not without merit, but, like Erin, you do start itching for something more. Just once, you want an uptick in scandal, or a wild-eyed performance to prove just how ugly Wall Street can get.
Gunn plays Naomi with surgical precision, even-tempered and in control.
Gunn plays Naomi with surgical precision, even-tempered and in control. A businesswoman who's operating at the top of her game, with a slight touch of desperation if there's a hint that anything not going according to plan. But the best scenes are when she completely lets go, giving in to crescendos of anger or bizarre moments of rage crossed with humor. She's a talented actress and it would have been a pleasure to see her tussle with more dramatic moments or cross over into completely cruel territory.
Like other Wall Street movies, Equity does share a penchant for quotables about how damn great money is, coupled with classic themes of corruption and deals. However, it just doesn't come with the brisk pace or relentless wit you'd want to see.
If there is a silver lining to all of this, it's Menon, a newcomer with a keen eye and distinct vision. There's an obsession with clean lines and orderly scenery that has an aspiring Fincher-esque quality to it.
This movie doesn't capture her potential, unfortunately, but that doesn't mean the next one won't.
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Yohana Desta was the senior film reporter for Mashable. She is a Northern Virginia native and an American University grad. She enjoys carefully curating her Instagram account and can often be found reading books, going to concerts, watching movies and learning way too much about pop culture.
