'THE FOUNDER' - REVIEW

Release Date: Friday the 17th of February (UK Release) 

Directed By: John Lee Hancock

Written By: Robert D. Siegel

Produced By: Don Handfield, Jeremy Renner, Karen Lunder and Aaron Ryder

Starring: Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Linda Cardellini, B.J. Novack and Laura Dern

Distributed By: The Weinstein Company

The Keaton comeback first became apparent with the release of Alejandro G. Inurritu's 2014 arthouse project 'Birdman', a tale of a washed out actor hoping for a last chance of redemption. This continued in 2015 with the deeply affecting and equally accoladed, true story based 'Spotlight'. Now, Keaton heads for a hat trick by making for a biopic role again, this time as the unscrupulous salesman in 'The Founder'.

Ray Kroc is a salesman who with every investment seems to lose a piece of himself. His latest project, milkshake mixers seems equally fruitful with sales almost non existent, until an order from a little hamburger restaurant in San Bernardino, California, leads him to discover something of a revolution. MacDonalds, owned by brothers Ray and Dick who’s wholesome burgers aren't the only discovery here. The speedy system in which meals are served in thirty seconds not thirty minutes sparks Kroc's ever ready mind on a track to big money. On this road however, Kroc's life both at home and away will be affected, not least of all, his personality. 

With a subject matter such as a billion dollar conglomerate very much the driving force of this film, its questionable as to whether this wouldn’t be an attempt to set up another universe, reminiscent of the Lego and god forbid, upcoming Emoji movie (The death knoll of pop culture cinema in the making). Fortunately however, this is a relatively serious biopic with Keaton at the helm in a believable if somewhat distasteful role as he progressively engulfs himself into the world of corporate business and backstabbing. 

As we first meet Kroc, this brief sequence is the closest we get to sympathising with him as this is his lowest point. From then on, a series of lightbulb moments follow as Kroc is lead by nothing but money and status. Meeting with the infamous MacDonalds Brothers Ray and Dick (Carroll Lynch and Offerman), the moment which he stumbles upon this potential goldmine is one of the few moments of optimism not only for the brothers but also the film itself as there is a possibility of the films focus splitting as we see both the story of Kroc as well as that of the two Brother’s who’s wholesome approach to their restaurant is heavily juxtaposed with Kroc’s desire to cut corners and in turn boost profits. 

What we get instead however is essentially entire focus on Keaton which as the title implies, isn’t particularly unexpected but the execution of the narrative leads it feeling somewhat obsessive as there is an abundance of other points of focus which are seemingly glossed over, losing a deeper story which would take the topic to a higher level. One notable waste is Laura Dern’s Ethel, Kroc’s stay at home wife who is reduced to nothing more than a nostalgic snapshot of stay at home wives who live the cliche of doing nothing but preparing meals and wanting to go out to expensive restaurants. There is also a great disservice to both brothers as the true founders of the iconic brand, get deep setup in the first act, only to be demoted to the occasional phonemail scene in the latter two, a shame as Carroll Lynch and Offerman give realistic and at times off beat performances making for an engaging pairing of two brothers fighting to keep the thing they worked half their lives for. 

One of the few saving graces of the film however is Keaton himself who, whilst portraying a vindictively villainous opportunist, manages not to step into the realm of caricature and keep Kroc grounded, despite the sheer ease with which he rises through the ranks. This however highlights another problem with Lee Hancock’s choice of arc as Kroc is clearly placed as the hero of this story somehow, yet despite this, there is little to no redemption or sense of heroism about his character and instead lead’s Kroc to become more akin to that of ‘America’s Saviour’ Donald Trump. A man who’s greed and self worth consumes all in his way, laying waste to family and once friends alike.

A film which had potential to gain an insight into one of America’s most ruthless business men falls short of the mark and instead leaves a tale of an opportunist and persistent man for whom enough is never enough. Whilst the true story could never be exactly a happy go lucky rags to riches tale, the lack of focus towards key characters leads to a denouement with a distinctly sour taste. A picture seemingly fitting to the age of Trump in which boisterous, narcissism appears to be the only road to success. This in mind, it is still an intriguing character opportunity for Keaton and certainly does not stop his return to relevance as an actor to be taken seriously. 

"Contracts are like hearts, they're made to be broken" - Ray Kroc