Film Snail

The Laundromat
The Laundromat

6.0

The Laundromat

R·2019·96m

Summary

When a widow gets swindled out of insurance money, her search for answers leads to two cunning lawyers in Panama who hide cash for the superrich.

Cast

Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep

Ellen Martin / Elena

Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman

Jürgen Mossack

Antonio Banderas

Antonio Banderas

Ramón Fonseca

Jeffrey Wright

Jeffrey Wright

Malchus Irvin Boncamper

Melissa Rauch

Melissa Rauch

Melanie

Jeff Michalski

Jeff Michalski

Norm Sidley

Jane Morris

Jane Morris

Barb Sidley

Robert Patrick

Robert Patrick

Captain Paris

David Schwimmer

David Schwimmer

Matthew Quirk

Cristela Alonzo

Cristela Alonzo

Special Agent Kilmer

Larry Clarke

Larry Clarke

Ellen's Attorney

Will Forte

Will Forte

Doomed Gringo #1

Chris Parnell

Chris Parnell

Doomed Gringo #2

Nonso Anozie

Nonso Anozie

Charles

Larry Wilmore

Larry Wilmore

Jeff

Jessica Allain

Jessica Allain

Simone

Nikki Amuka-Bird

Nikki Amuka-Bird

Miranda

Matthias Schoenaerts

Matthias Schoenaerts

Maywood

Rosalind Chao

Rosalind Chao

Gu Kailai

Kunjue Li

Kunjue Li

Gu's Aide

Ming Lo

Ming Lo

Chief Wang Lijun

James Cromwell

James Cromwell

Joseph David Martin

Sharon Stone

Sharon Stone

Hannah

AJ Meijer

AJ Meijer

Hominid #1

Arsenio Castellanos

Arsenio Castellanos

Hominid #2

Lucy Morningstar

Lucy Morningstar

Hominid #3

Chris McLaughlin

Chris McLaughlin

First Mate

Jay Paulson

Jay Paulson

Pastor Conners

Juliet Donenfeld

Juliet Donenfeld

Thalia

Brock Brenner

Brock Brenner

Kaylen

Marsha Stephanie Blake

Marsha Stephanie Blake

Vincelle Boncamper

Daniyar

Daniyar

Sergei

Alexander Stasko

Alexander Stasko

Felix

Amy Pemberton

Amy Pemberton

Friend of Sergei and Felix

Noro Otitigbe

United Receptionist

Myron Parker Wright

Myron Parker Wright

Richard Boncamper

Miriam A. Hyman

Miriam A. Hyman

Edith Boncamper

Benicio Hall

Boncamper's Miami Child

Veronica Osorio

Veronica Osorio

Mr. Mossack's Secretary

Brenda Zamora

Brenda Zamora

Mia Beltran

Zandy Hartig

Zandy Hartig

Journalist

Nicholas Barrera

Nicholas Barrera

Bus Passenger

Fernando Martinez

Fernando Martinez

Bus Driver

Melinna Bobadilla

Melinna Bobadilla

Mossack Fonseca Employee #1

Frank Gallegos

Frank Gallegos

Father Héctor Gallego

Christian De León

Young Ramón

Gabriel 'G-Rod' Rodriguez

Gabriel 'G-Rod' Rodriguez

Sinaloa Cartel Leader

Miracle Washington

Astrid

Jonah Gould

Event Planner

Jesse Wang

Jesse Wang

Bo Xilai

Brian Yang

Brian Yang

Arresting Officer #1

James Hsu

Arresting Officer #2

Guido Föhrweißer

Guido Föhrweißer

Mossack Fonseca Employee #2

Josef Urban

Mossack Fonseca Employee #3

Juan Monsalvez

Juan Monsalvez

Panama Agent

Ricardo Chacon

Ricardo Chacon

Uniformed Panama Agent

Alvin Zalamea

Panama Arresting Agent #1

Frank Trigg

Frank Trigg

Panama Arresting Agent #2

Joey Anaya

Joey Anaya

Panama Arresting Agent #3

Eddie J. Fernandez

Eddie J. Fernandez

Panama Arresting Agent #4

Edu Carvalho

Reporter #1

Jonathan G. Rodriguez

Reporter #2

Kassandra Marron

Reporter #3

Xu Razer

Airplane Passenger (uncredited)

Eric Michael Cole

Eric Michael Cole

Worker (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Steven Soderbergh

Book

Jake Bernstein

Writer

Scott Z. Burns

Reviews

dalboz

dalboz

October 24, 2019

5

Remember the Panama Papers? Those leaked documents that detailed how various people and companies created off-shore shell companies in order to avoid paying billions if not trillions in taxes around the world? No?

I’m not surprised. It was a huge story that seemed to become a flash in the pan and many people forgot about it after the coverage dried up because, very likely, the corporations that run the news media tried to bury it. But these folks didn’t forget.

The film’s title refers to the whole operation as generally being a money laundering scheme. Featuring an ensemble cast of Hollywood who’s who as well as who’s that, this Steven Soderbergh film invariably draws comparisons to Adam McKay’s “The Big Short,” both in subject matter and style. The narrators, played by Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas, frequently address the camera directly. Usually, this has the effect of making the audience feel like they’re in on the scheme, but it’s not as effective as when it was used in, say, “House of Cards.” Why? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it likely has to do with the complexity of the scheme. Their characters are more than just narrators, but are actual players in the overall story, lawyers who created the paperwork and did the legwork to get these schemes off the ground. As such, they actually try to explain it, both simplified and with a certain complexity that leaves one a little unsure of the truth. Maybe that was the idea, but from a storytelling perspective, it didn’t quite work.

And effect is part of the problem with this film. Aside from being done as a comedy for what is in fact a very serious subject (the reporter who exposed this story was later killed by a car bomb), this film doesn’t feel very effective in conveying outrage. In fact, it feels less like outrage and more like being impotently miffed. The film doesn’t feel like it conveys the gravity of the situation. Which is very disappointing given the talent involved and the chance to really bring this subject back into the public eye. While I have to give the filmmakers credit with trying to make the complex money laundering scheme in the Panama Papers digestible to a general audience and keeping this visible, ultimately it feels like it’s too little too late.

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Keywords

politics
political thriller