Follow The Money-Al Pacino and Anthony Hopkin’s “Misconduct” (2016)-A Film Review   

DVD Review

By Associate Film Critic Alden Riley

[Upon the retirement from the day to day duties of film review in this space of Sam Lowell (he called it drudgery not duty) and his replacement by his old friend and competitor from the American Film Gazette Sandy Salmon there was an understanding that Sandy would cover the old time movies and his associate Alden Riley would cover the modern current efforts. This is Alden’s second such effort. Pete Markin] 

Misconduct, starring Al Pacino, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Duhamel, Alice Eve, Malin Ackerman, 2016      

Ever since the Watergate revelations of the 1970s which did one American President, Richard Nixon, in and fouled up the political atmosphere for years whenever dirty tricks and cutthroat tactics have been employed the mantra has been to “follow the money.” That is the case with the plotline of the film under review, Misconduct, an apt title on several levels.  Although the action is done by private parties rather than governmental that same following the bouncing ball applies to the plotline here as well. 

Arthur Denning, played by now ancient Anthony Hopkins who seems to be chasing Michael Caine for the title of appearing in the most films in a lifetime, a billionaire Big Pharma magnate is on the carpet for doctoring up drug test results which proved fatal on a serious number of trial patients. He certainly wanted to get out from under that heavy legal problem especially the criminal liability part. Moreover he had a younger mentally unstable employee mistress Emily, played by Malin Ackeman, who had her own agenda and wanted to get out from under. She had conjured up documentary proof of Denning’s extensive knowing wrong-doings and figured to cash in on that knowledge.       

Enter young “take no prisoners” big time New Orleans law firm lawyer Ben Cahill, played by Josh Duhamel, who just happened to be an old flame of Emily’s and who is the key to Emily getting out from under via a serious class action suit against Denning using her information as the lynchpin. Of course Emily used her obvious feminine wiles in her attempt to get the eager beaver young lawyer to do her bidding-to take on the case. Problem in that romance department was that Ben was married, very married, to Charlotte, a nurse played by Alice Eve and he passed on that part. He did however approach the senior partner, Abrams, played by Al Pacino, who after a lot of hemming and hawing decided to let Ben go ahead with the suit.            

Then all hell broke loose. First Emily staged her own kidnapping to grab some dough from Denning. As far as the lawsuit went Ben was a winner after Denning “settled” out of court for a big sum but also was protected from criminal liability as part of the agreement. Then before Ben could even celebrate his victory with Charlotte Emily wound up dead, very dead, from an apparent suicide. Ben found her body and just left it there in her apartment only to have it show up in his apartment and he had to go on the run. Go on the run to find out why he was being framed although he suspected that nefarious Denning was behind the deed. Figured the “deep pockets” guy was looking for further protection against whatever fall-out might come from Emily’s distraught mind. 

He would be wrong though. Wrong because the villain of the piece is none other than Abrams his boss who despite public appearances had been Denning’s lawyer for years. Yeah, follow the money, follow it closely. But there are other agendas, other kinds of misconduct, as well. See Charlotte was miffed at the idea that Emily and Ben might be rekindling that old flame and she went to Emily’s apartment to confront her. Had an argument and Emily fell. Charlotte coldly did not help her and staged the fake suicide scene. As for Ben and Charlotte they just moved on with their lives. And so it goes.