A brisk opening that holds some promise, a meandering middle that scuttles much of the early potential, and an overly rushed climax make Greedy People a mixed bag – an action comedy that never kicks into top gear despite all the scampering that it does in search of a sweep spot.
Greedy People, premiering in India exclusively on Lionsgate Play and available in English and Hindi, is frequently enlivened by dashes of deadpan humour. With Joseph Gordon-Levitt imparting immense charm and chutzpah to his flamboyant cop and punchlines flying thick and fast between him and his partner in ‘crime', the film has its share of passably bright moments.
But nothing that the actors bring to the table – and they do bring a substantial bit – is enough to add genuine spark to the proceedings. Greedy People, directed by Potsy Ponciroli from a screenplay by Nichael Vukadinovich, never stops trying to claw its way out of the morass but fails.
Officer Terry Brogan (Gordon-Levitt) isn't the man in control that he wants to us to believe he is. And his dour mate, Will Shelley (Himesh Patel), a newcomer to the island town of Providence, isn't quite as staid as he appears, or wants, to be.
The two are as mismatched in style and substance as any pair of cops has ever been in a Hollywood movie. They are drawn into a rigmarole of their own making. It quickly spirals into a wild whirligig that stirs up a town with a low crime rate.
Will's first day at work in Providence threatens to be his last. It triggers a series of misunderstandings, miscalculations and mean manoeuvres, leaving a trail of deaths starting with an accidental one that follows a hasty response to what Will erroneously surmises is a burglary attempt.
Will's pregnant wife Paige (Lily James) is busy doing up the house they have moved into while he and Terry rustle up a dangerous plan that stems from an unexpected killing, a fortuitous discovery of a million dollars, and a consequent web of conspiracies that begin to get the better of the duo no matter how much they try to guide the flow of events in their own favour.
The film is marred a touch by a marked lack of chemistry between the two male actors but that lacuna actually seems intended at times. Terry and Will are worlds apart temperamentally. The former is cocksure. He is in the game with all his heart and, when not in police uniform, sports flashy floral shirts.
The latter feels his way around. He is sedate to the point of being surly. Will prepares for the arrival of his and Paige's first child. The would-be father wears dull stripes and goes about his job with earnestness. “You've got to do this for your baby,” Terry says to him as opportunity emerges from nowhere and knocks on their door.
But all their plans and schemes go haywire as bad choices pile up not just in the line of duty but also at Will's home and in the town at large. The duo reports to Captain Anne Murphy (Uzo Aduba), who is probably aware that her two officers may not up to much good. But she gives them a long rope until there is no rope left.
In here are a seafood trader (Tim Blake Nelson) with a nefarious plan to spice up his life, a Colombian hitman (Jose Maria Yazpik) who doubles up as a masseur (and, surprisingly, even a car mechanic), an assassin called The Irishman (Jim Gaffigan), “the last handyman you'll ever need”, and a pet canine that Paige dotes on.
Their actions and antics would have been infinitely funnier had their motivations been clearer and more plausible. The film's noirish approach has a dense and laboured feel to it. Greedy People struggles without any success to shake it off.
Terry and Will have backstories – these are dismissed in the form of passing allusions – that explain why they are the way they are, but much of what they do as men in uniform and otherwise as they hurtle from one mess to another does not always ring true.
The most dangerous area in the house, The Colombian says, is not the kitchen (where a housewife ends up dead in a pool of blood one fine morning) but the bathroom. But it is in the kitchen where trouble is stirred up.
Another homemaker, a Chinese woman married to a nondescript middle-aged man, does not die but one of the two cops finds himself in big trouble owing to her furtive presence in his life.
It is in trying to bulldoze their way out of trouble and make a killing in the bargain that Terry and Will tie themselves up in knots that not only prove difficult to untangle but also push the film into a blur too arbitrary to be genuinely effective.
Greedy People is unlikely to ever compare favourably with other films of its kind. But that certainly isn't for want of trying. It isn't the usual buddy-buddy movie. Terry and Will never strike up a rapport, which is what leads to them pulling in opposite directions when push comes to shove. But that does that give it a sheen of freshness? No.
Notwithstanding all the hustle bustle (mostly verbal jousts and minor skirmishes) that it whips up, Greedy People does not mount an all-out action sequence until it is less than half an hour shy of the end. From there on, it hurtles from one thing to another, never pausing for breath.
Terry is attacked by a masked man. He fights back. The situation throws open the sluice-gates. The gloves come off, so do the masks. As it begins to become apparent that nobody is what he or she appears to be, the violence unfolds in such a tearing hurry that it comes and goes without generating any abiding adrenaline rush.
The actors operate in their own demarcated spaces with competence to drive home the defining traits of the characters that they portray. British actor Himesh Patel receives top billing alongside Lily James but Greedy People rides principally on Gordon-Levitt. He gives it his all. Sadly, that isn't always enough.