Crypto-thriller ‘Cold Wallet’ generates intense heat
In the tradition of “Thelma,” a considerably younger band of fraud victims go vigilante on the man who wronged them in the revenge thriller “Cold Wallet.” To say it’s cathartic is an understatement, particularly in an era when America is rapidly evolving into a tech-bro oligarchy.
You can’t get more everyman than self-described “Redditors” Billy (Raul Castillo), Eva (Melonie Diaz) and dim-witted Dom (Tony Cavalero), all living on the brink of poverty when they have the misfortune of getting involved in a cryptocurrency scam that for about 96 hours makes them incredibly wealthy before the bottom falls out. Their dreams shattered, they don’t get mad, they get even.
Initially, contrivances abound, courtesy of writer John Hibey and director Cutter Hodierne, who allow the ticked-off trio the luxury of living in the same city as their swindler, Charles Hegel (Josh Brener). They also have his address, which leads them to the creep’s Gatsby-esque mansion deep in the snow-covered woods of Western Massachusetts. At first, the gang’s inept attempts at home invasion are played for laughs, but as this lickety-split plot kicks in, the blood goes from boiling to spilling.
I’ll say no more, other than to give kudos to Hodierne and Hibey for cranking out a cracker-jack thriller that cuts straight to the action, makes its points and gets out all in the space of 84 intense minutes. Leading the charge is Castillo’s desperate Billy, a divorced dad who planned to convert his short-lived riches into a new house his preteen daughter could be proud of – and stop his ex, Eileen (Zoe Winters), from nagging him over missed alimony payments. He defiantly holds up his phone, intending to show her his swelling bank balance. But, literally, right before her eyes – and ours – the sum goes from black to red in mere minutes.
Not only has Billy lost what little he had to start with, he actually now owes money to his fraudster. As do Eva and Dom, whom Billy convinced to go all in with him on the opportunity to get rich quick. A lot of blind rage and a quick trip to the superstore for a Beretta, crowbar and other tools of vengeance land them on Hegel’s doorstep armed and dangerous.
The plan is to not just get their money back but also for the multitude of others who were shaken down by the scumbag. But these would-be Robin Hoods are not the only folks after the crypto creep. So are the feds. It becomes a race against time for the trio to extract the password from Hegel to raid the hundreds of millions of dollars he has stashed away in the Caymans.
The thrills are non-stop, but what grips you is observing how the pursuit of money has turned all four participants into savage animals willing to do anything to get or stay liquid. Has income inequality brought us to a place where a have-not will do just about anything to become a have, including firing bullets, arrows and administering an old-fashioned bludgeoning? It’s not so much, “How did we get here?” as it is “How do we make it stop?”
I admire the film’s ability to work on multiple levels, making it enjoyable even if you choose not to glean meaning from beneath the cloak of a standard home-invasion thriller. But if you do indulge in the moral complexities, you’ll be richly rewarded by a movie that asks big questions while confirming the biblical conceit that money is indeed the root of all evil.
Movie review
Cold Wallet
Rated: R for language throughout and violence
Cast: Raul Castillo, Melonie Diaz, Tony Cavalero, Josh Brener and Zoe Winters
Director: Cutter Hodierne
Writer: John Hibey
Runtime: 84 minutes
Where: In theaters Feb. 28
Grade: B
