the fresh films reviews

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The Founder (2016)

Director:
John Lee Hancock

COUNTRY
USA

Genre
Biographical drama

NORWEGIAN TITLE
The Founder

RUNNING TIME
115 minutes

Producer:
Don Handfield
Jeremy Renner
Aaron Ryder

Screenwriter:
Robert Siegel


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Ray Kroc Michael Keaton ½
Richard "Dick" McDonald Nick Offerman
Maurice "Mac" McDonald John Carroll Lynch
Joan Smith Linda Cardellini ½
Harry J. Sonneborn B. J. Novak -
Ethel Kroc Laura Dern ½
Fred Turner Justin Randell Brooke -
June Martino Kate Kneeland -
Rollie Smith Patrick Wilson -

 

Review

Michael Keaton's nuanced, balanced portrait of Ray Kroc, a business man who was equal measures passionate about creating something new and selfish enough to screw over his competitors and partners propels this fun look-see at the early days of McDonald's. The film gives us a vivid, fairytalish look at the 1950s and the people populating it – a time when The American Dream was still very much alive, claim the filmmakers nostalgically. This romanticized angle creates a safe distance to view the story from, so that we don't really need to take a moral stance to it all. Still, the heartfelt performances given by Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch as the two McDonald brothers will arguably stir up some emotion in most viewers. And Keaton's devil-may-care attitude is in all likelihood more captivating than Kroc himself was.

Copyright © 19.07.2021 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

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