Released: 1st October 2021
Length: 89 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Director: Shady El-Hamus
Starring: Jonas Smulders, Hadewych Minis, Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing, Matteo van der Grijn, Daniël Kolf, Sinem Kavus, Sergio Fontana
With the divide between rich and poor growing wider, many a story has emerged to offer comments on the state of modern society. Forever Rich, an effort from The Netherlands, settles into watchable territory without distinguishing itself.
The world famous rapper Richie (Jonas Smulders) has gotten himself into a pickle; when he gets robbed in a cark park by masked thieves, the incident is live-streamed to the internet. This causes a substantial drop in popularity, something he can’t afford in the lead-up to a massive show. In a bid to win back both his expensive watch and reputation, Richie heads out to track down the attackers with his friends in tow. As you’d expect, things don’t go according to plan and the singer’s hollow, selfish character is revealed. This trivial pursuit of a meaningless item is very intentional; Forever Rich is all about the excess of those at the top of the social ladder and the lengths they go to maintain their fake image and popularity. The title has a dual meaning, referring to both the protagonist’s comfortable place in the super-rich club and his own personal character. This is definitely the highlight of the film as the multiple set pieces show that this individual will never change his ways or show a hint of care for those beneath him. At first Richie merely aims to track his enemies, but his goals soon turn to degrading and humiliating those who wronged him. Unfortunately, Forever Rich is undercut by an incredibly lacklustre ending that offers no payoff to the character’s personal choices. We go through the film seeing Richie abandoned by his inner circle, but these side characters receive no conclusion or payoff.
You can tell from the get-go that this guy is way out of his depth and has no clue how to handle difficult situations. It’s only down to luck and the intervention of his friends that he avoids making things worse. This makes Richie an incredibly unlikeable leading man with Smulders doing a solid job of showcasing his negative traits; yet much like Good Time before it, most of the twists come from the trouble he gets himself into. His obsessions with fame and image consumes the film’s runtime and eventually spills over onto his “friends”. I use this term loosely as they are often put into the firing line, their frustration climbing as Richie’s schemes grow more outlandish. Tony (Daniël Kolf) finds himself on the receiving end the most and is easily the most fleshed out of the side characters. Others don’t fare as well and are heavily short-changed by the material; because Richie spends most of the film away from his comfortable lifestyle, his girlfriend and mother (played by Sinem Kavus and Hadewych Minis respectively) are relegated to simple phone calls for the most part. This lack of development makes their absence in the conclusion all the more damaging.
The setting of Forever Rich is much like our own, marked by a stark divide between rich and poor. As the main character proceeds deeper into more impoverished neighbourhoods, the atmosphere pulls you in. Suburban units clash with glamourous high rise towers to highlight this throughout the film. You’ll notice the camerawork getting more and more shaky as the night goes on, reflecting Richie’s growing desperation. This is also true of the soundtrack which is a great fit for the night-time environment. The ambient noise grows more intensive as the main character commits more horrid acts. The more graphic elements are portrayed in a realistic fashion which does make for a believable premise but it can't overcome a lack of character focus.
We’re starting to see more social critiques in modern cinema and Forever Rich ends up being neither great nor unwatchable. It’s a shame that the film cuts off its story with very little closure; much more could have been done with Richie’s closest friends and the way he neglects them. As it stands, the film is competent but never rises beyond that.
Rating: 3/5 Stars (Fair)
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