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By Leon van Nierop

Journalist


Paranoia, cash and corruption

The film Arbitrage recently took a similar theme – large-scale corporate crime – and examined it with insight and a sharp eye for detail.


Unfortunately Paranoia delivers a bland cinematic meal without any salt or spices. It is plain and dull. The blame must fall squarely on the shoulders of its director Robert Luketic, who fails to involve the viewer in a bloody corporate battle that leaves only victims and a scarred winner who can barely lie down given all the knives in his back.

Liam Hemsworth plays the part of a young upstart named Adam Cassidy who shoots up the ladder of success because of his pretty-boy looks and audacity. He gains entrance to a multi-million dollar corporation where his sly boss, uses him as a spy and a go-between to bring down his former mentor (Ford).

 

PARANOIA

 

Greed and corruption are addictive, and this is what the film is actually about. This is where the success or failure of Paranoia lies .

Instead of simply presenting the facts in a sober, logical and stylish way, the director turns the film into a kind of dark corporate whodunit with fast editing and thematic twists and turns. The viewer eventually gets lost in a maze of techniques and an overwritten script.

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