The intricate and darkly comedic plot kicks off when Will (Himesh Patel), a well-meaning but somewhat hapless cop, responds to an emergency call that quickly spirals out of control. What seems like a routine check escalates into chaos when Will nearly shoots a woman, played by Traci Lords, who is simply minding her own business in her kitchen. Things go from bad to worse when the woman panics and attacks him, leading to a violent struggle that ends with her death.
Unsure of what to do, Will turns to his sleazy partner Terry (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who convinces him to cover up the accidental killing by framing a fictional burglar for the crime. Their reasoning becomes even more twisted when they stumble upon $1 million in cash hidden inside the woman’s house. Greed overtakes any remaining sense of morality, and the two officers decide to keep the money, unaware of the storm they are about to unleash.
Complications arise when they discover that the woman’s husband, a wealthy and eccentric shrimp dealer (Tim Blake Nelson), had already hired a hitman to kill his wife so he could be with his mistress (Nina Arianda). Now, with the woman dead but not by his hired assassin’s hand, the husband grows paranoid, suspecting he's been set up in a double-cross. His suspicions lead him to seek revenge, further entangling the characters in a web of deceit.
As the plot thickens, more bizarre characters get roped into the mess. A sleazy masseur (Simon Rex), who offers a range of illicit services, becomes an unwitting participant in the chaos. Meanwhile, Will’s pregnant wife (Lily James), who is already skeptical of Terry, grows increasingly alarmed when he "accidentally" kills her beloved dog. Her suspicion of Terry intensifies, putting additional strain on Will as he tries to maintain his crumbling facade.
Adding to the madness is a bumbling hitman known as "The Irishman" (Jim Gaffigan), who advertises his services via tear-off flyers around town, claiming to be "The Last Handyman You’ll Ever Need." Unfortunately for him, his attempts at intimidation are laughably ineffective, and he soon becomes yet another comic pawn in the unfolding mayhem.
The burning question at the heart of the story remains: can Will successfully conceal his crime, or is he destined to be caught in the tangled web of lies and murder he's woven? As the tension mounts, Will finds himself sinking deeper into a moral quagmire. Each step he takes to cover up his involvement in the woman’s death only complicates matters further, drawing him into a labyrinth of deceit from which there seems to be no escape.
Director Potsy Ponciroli seems to struggle with the balancing act in his latest venture. The film's downfall lies in its lack of the bold, exaggerated style needed to embrace the increasingly outlandish events it portrays fully. By the time the story lurches to its blood-soaked conclusion, with only a handful of characters still standing, the sheer chaos of it all feels less like a sharp black comedy and more like an unwieldy mess—leaving the once-idyllic island looking like a graveyard and making it a highly unlikely future tourist destination.
Even though the ensemble cast gives it their all—each performer clearly committed to the absurdity of their roles—the film ultimately falls short of its lofty ambitions. Greedy People tries to be both a biting comedy and a violent thriller but struggles to balance the tone, resulting in a clash of genres that leaves neither side fully satisfying. It’s as if the film wants to indulge in both the laughs and the bloodshed, yet in attempting to have it all, it winds up falling short of either. While the potential is there, the execution is muddled, and the film never quite lives up to the wickedly clever story it promises to deliver.
Final Score- [4/10]
Reviewed by - Neerja Choudhuri
Follow @NeerjaCH on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times