A fascinating slow-burn of a movie, Mountainhead is essentially a 4-man play about what could happen if the wealthiest people in control of AI decide whether to let the world burn and become the vision they have instead.
As most of us live our daily lives, we are concerned with the smaller things. You pick up your medication, make sure that you’ve got groceries for dinner, and tuck the kids into bed. There is no time to think about the bigger picture – the one that people with lots of time may be planning – so you go along day after day.
Mountainhead is a movie about four of the richest men in the world who take a weekend vacation at one of their houses up in the mountains. It is supposed to be a “bro weekend” where they celebrate their wealth, play some poker, and do what dudes do outside of the boardroom. But on this weekend, with one man’s company AI product able to create realistic videos of major country takedowns and violence, and the rest of the world actually responding in kind, these men try to decide whether it is best to let it all happen, or to try to stop it.
This black comedy takes a little time to warm up to because it is truly a slow burn. At the beginning of the movie, you learn a little about each of the guys, get to know their competitiveness with each other, and see some of the violence taking place through videos on their phones.
As time goes on, discussions become deeper and, although the dialogue plays to intellectuals, the true colors of each man begins to show. Everything they do is transactional. Is it worth letting the world fall to chaos if you’re the one controlling it on the backend? Is your individual life worth more than the rest of the world?
There are small appearances by other actors, but the primary quad includes Steve Carell, Cory Michael Smith, Ramy Youssef, and Jason Schwartzman. I will admit that Steve Carell is my spirit animal and that I’d watch anything he does (particularly if he’s playing more of a serious character a la Little Miss Sunshine or Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World), but each of the four men carry their weight in this film and it works.
This is one of those movies that you have to allow time for, and I hope that you do. What begins as a story about four egomaniacs in a room celebrating their awesomeness with their worth literally written on each of their chests in lipstick slowly becomes something more complex. It’s definitely worth a watch.
Runtime: 109 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: TV-MA
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Available: Free on Max or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
As most of us live our daily lives, we are concerned with the smaller things. You pick up your medication, make sure that you’ve got groceries for dinner, and tuck the kids into bed. There is no time to think about the bigger picture – the one that people with lots of time may be planning – so you go along day after day.
