Windfall

While not a masterpiece, Windfall makes the most of its small budget and single location with solid performances and a clever story. Windfall captured my attention when I expected just to have it on in the background and demanded I sit and see what was happening. It is unique and told in a casual manner despite the high-stress circumstances that play out. Throughout the film, I tried to guess how it would play out, but the ending wrapped up unexpectedly. I can’t say Windfall was an incredible film, but it held my attention and felt different than a typical home invasion or robbery movie. Segel, Collins, and Plemons all played their characters in a way that kept the viewer off kilter and wondering what would happen next. Windfall keeps its characters shrouded in mystery, leaving the audience in the dark, only sharing small bits to develop the story. Windfall isn’t mind-blowing but entertains and intrigues right from the beginning.

'Windfall' holds some moments of promise, though my interest dropped out too often for me to deem it as a good, or even an average, movie. I was uninterested more than I was locked in. That's a shame, because the (tiny) cast are great on paper. Lily Collins is the standout, with Jesse Plemons closely following. Jason Segel is iffy in this, his body language sorta acting is actually good but once he starts talking I just didn't buy the whole situation; same could perhaps be said (albeit to a lesser degree) for Plemons, who I am a fan of. The fact that it is a very obvious 'COVID movie' doesn't help, it just makes the limited, one location nature of the plot feel too restrictive. That's probably an unfair thing to judge the movie on given the time, but still. In total fairness, the film picks up its pace slightly near the end.