Gold (2016)

Kenny Wells, a prospector desperate for a lucky break, teams up with a similarly eager geologist and sets off on a journey to find gold in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia.

Director:

Stephen Gaghan

Writers:

Patrick Massett, John Zinman

Stars:

Matthew McConaughey, Edgar Ramírez, Bryce Dallas Howard

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew McConaughey	...	Kenny Wells
Edgar Ramírez	...	Michael Acosta (as Édgar Ramírez)
Bryce Dallas Howard	...	Kay
Corey Stoll	...	Brian Woolf
Toby Kebbell	...	Paul Jennings
Bill Camp	...	Hollis Drescher
Joshua Harto	...	Lloyd Stanton
Timothy Simons	...	Jeff Jackson
Craig T. Nelson	...	Kenny Wells Sr.
Macon Blair	...	Connie Wright
Adam LeFevre	...	Bobby Burns
Frank Wood	...	Scottie Nevins
Michael Landes	...	Glen Binkert
Bhavesh Patel	...	Bobby Owens
Rachael Taylor	...	Rachel Hill

Storyline

With the sudden death of his father, fourth-generation prospector Kenny Wells sees the family business, Washoe Mining, rapidly decline and him out of business. But ambitious Kenny has a dream, a vivid vision that promises mountains of brilliant and pure gold in the lush jungles of remote Indonesia; an aspiration which the well-known, yet still unlucky geologist Michael Acosta shares. Before long, down-on-his-luck Kenny will convince the eager geologist to become his partner and set off on an adventure deep into uncharted territory, while in the meantime, he would hunt for investors. Unfortunately though, as the risky expedition begins without a single speck of gold or the promise of it on the horizon, disease and failure will begin to threaten the short-lived dream. However, is it indeed an intriguingly bold and reckless fantasy?

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Plot Keywords:

indonesia | gold | panning for gold | 1980s | based on true story | 

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Taglines:

Prove 'em all wrong

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language throughout and some sexuality/nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Gold" is based on the Bre-X scandal. Bre-X was a Canadian company. The bar where Wells and his company hang out is called "The Three Greenhorns." This is the name of a real restaurant (not bar) in Vancouver, BC, Canada. (The Three Greenhorns were, famously, three of the earliest homesteaders in Vancouver.) Although the company has been moved to Nevada, for some reason the writers kept the name of the restaurant.

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Goofs

When Kenny and Mike are in the river showing the investors how to pan for gold, a mostly smoked cigarette suddenly pops into Kenny's mouth.

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Quotes

[From trailer]
Kenny Wells: I had a dream. It was the gold calling.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Michael Strahan/Bryce Dallas Howard/Bebe Rexha (2017)

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Soundtracks

I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
Written by Richard Thompson
Performed by Richard Thompson (as Richard) and Linda Thompson
Courtesy of Island Records Ltd.
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Editing issues?

I am shocked at the low IMDb score for this movie as I enjoyed every aspect of it... the acting, directing, cinematography etc 'except' for the editing (sound and cutting room).

The problem started with the very choppy scene changes and the cut- short dialogue. There were too many back and forth timeline changes and they were very poorly transitioned.

What I really question is how the synopsis has much more information than what was in the film. Did that viewer see a different extended version of the movie I just watched? Don't get me wrong, it really filled in a lot of gaps that otherwise wouldn't have been filled in for me to truly understand certain parts and fully enjoy the movie. Every 30 min or so I'd go catch up on the synopsis before continuing the movie and it really did help.

I also had a very difficult time understanding the dialogue as it was either too low or too muffled (or Matthew was whispering too low).

So although I really did enjoy this movie, I felt a lot of key parts ended up on the cutting room floor that thankfully the synopsis filled in, and the sound (dialogue) needed some tweaking to be more understandable.

7.5/10 rounded up to 8 for the current undeserving low score.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Indonesian

Release Date:

27 January 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gold

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,471,316, 29 January 2017

Gross USA:

$7,227,038

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,880,939

Company Credits

Production Co:

Black Bear Pictures, Boies / Schiller Film Group, Hwy61

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1