Gold Brick Review: Also known as Cash, the French comedy film is directed by Jérémie Rozan and the screenplay is written along with Victor Kodenbach and Aurelien Molas. The film was released on Netflix on July 6, 2023, and has a runtime of about 1 hour and 35 minutes.
The cast of the film includes Raphaël Quenard as Daniel Sauveur, Igor Gotesman as Scania, Agathe Rousselle as Virginie, Antoine Gouy as Patrick Breuil, Nina Meurisse as Béatrice Breuil, Grégoire Colin as Brice Nougarolis, Youssef Hajdi as Ange and several others.
Gold Brick Review
The film starts off with a peculiar conversation about Reggae music and its relation to capitalism when we meet with two guys sitting in a truck, about to crush another man running away from them. The scene then cuts to the main protagonist Daniel Sauveur and his hatred towards a big corporation in his town, as they represent everything that’s wrong with capitalism and corruption. He swears to never work under that corporation and slave his life away for a meagre salary.
But as fate plays its game, Daniel and his childhood friend Scania are left with the only option to work in the Breuil factory that deals with luxury perfumes’ packing and distribution. When the main head of the Breuil family dies, everything is inherited by his son Patrick who was Daniel’s classmate in elementary school. On the same day, the company ends up giving its employees, the same perfumes that they work with all day. When Daniel resells it online for half the price, it gives him a business idea that fits right with his ideology of ‘fuck corporations’.
He starts secretly stealing luxury perfumes from the production line and hands them to Scania, who works as a driver there. He safely takes the stolen products outside the factory with him and then resells them online for less price. Within a few months, they were able to make enough money to spend freely while buying a Rolex. And even if issues like online account blocking, new security in place etc come up, Daniel finds a way around to keep the business going. Until Patrick and his inability to lead the family business becomes a hurdle in his plans.
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Gold Brick is one of those films from whom you don’t have much expectations but with every minute, you find yourself getting completely invested in it. It’s a light-hearted comedy that focuses on one plot and brings in more layers with unpredictable details that leaves you delightfully surprised. Raphaël Quenard as Daniel Sauveur charms his way to the viewers, as he effortlessly does while dealing with various issues in his reselling business.
While watching, there’s a looming inevitable feeling that shit will hit the fan eventually but it’s safe to say, such extreme conditions don’t really happen. Daniel has a way with things that Patrick can’t learn from an educational institution. The two characters are completely opposite of each other, Patrick has been given everything on the platter but he doesn’t know what to do with the company or even his life. Then there’s Daniel who doesn’t have anything but his hustle to make it big in life.
The ending has to be the most unpredictable and the best part of the hustling comedy. On analysing the film closely, one would find that it’s a commentary on capitalism and how the underprivileged classes have to play on their life to even make a decent living. There’s no definite evil in the story but represents the world as it is and then brings in a group of people, who found a loophole to their benefit.
Despite evident social messages, it doesn’t become preachy about right or wrongs in society or what should be an ideal world. Rather the comedy and well-written script takes you on a thrilling and entertaining ride with Daniel and his newfound crew. It’s a must-watch film that exceeds all expectations and leaves you thinking, “That was pretty good”.
Rating: 4.5/5
Gold Brick /Cash is currently streaming on Netflix.
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