The Laundromat (2019)

A widow investigates an insurance fraud, chasing leads to a pair of Panama City law partners exploiting the world's financial system.

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers:

Jake Bernstein (book), Scott Z. Burns (screenplay)

Stars:

Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, AJ Meijer

7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gary Oldman	...	Jürgen Mossack
Antonio Banderas	...	Ramón Fonseca
AJ Meijer	...	Hominid #1
Arsenio Castellanos	...	Hominid #2
Lucy Morningstar	...	Hominid #3
Meryl Streep	...	Ellen Martin
James Cromwell	...	Joe Martin
Jeff Michalski	...	Norm Sidley
Jane Morris	...	Barb Sidley
Robert Patrick	...	Captain Paris
Chris McLaughlin	...	First Mate
Jay Paulson	...	Pastor Conners
Melissa Rauch	...	Melanie
Juliet Donenfeld	...	Thalia
Brock Brenner	...	Kaylen

Storyline

When her idyllic vacation takes an unthinkable turn, Ellen Martin (Meryl Streep) begins investigating a fake insurance policy, only to find herself down a rabbit hole of questionable dealings that can be linked to a Panama City law firm and its vested interest in helping the world's wealthiest citizens amass larger fortunes. Founding partners Jürgen Mossack (Gary Oldman) and Ramón Fonseca (Antonio Banderas) are experts in the seductive ways shell companies and offshore accounts help the rich and powerful prosper. They are about to show us that Ellen's predicament only hints at the tax evasion, bribery and other illicit absurdities that the super wealthy indulge in to support the world's corrupt financial system. Zipping through a kaleidoscope of detours in China, Mexico, Africa (via Los Angeles) and the Caribbean en route to 2016's Panama Papers publication - where journalists leaked the secret, encrypted documents of Mossack Fonseca's high-profile patrons - THE LAUNDROMAT's ensemble ...

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Plot Keywords:

mossack fonseca scandal | panama papers scandal | greed | flamboyant villain | evil banker | 

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Taglines:

Based on actual secrets

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexual content and disturbing images

Did You Know?

Trivia

Riley Keough was in talks to join the cast, in what would've been her fourth collaboration with Steven Soderbergh, but she became unavailable due to scheduling conflicts with A24's "Zola."

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ramón Fonseca: First of all, there are some things you should know before we begin. For instance, we are real people, just like you. Secondly, we did not write a word of this. To be perfectly frank, we would have preferred all of this remain a secret. But we had no choice in the matter. We just woke up one day and everything changed. There were stories about us everywhere: TV, newspapers, and the internet.
Ramón Fonseca: And now it is our turn to tell a few stories. Think of them as fairy tales that actually ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Failed Oscar Bait Movies of 2019 (2020)

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Soundtracks

I Love the Nightlife (Disco 'Round)
Written by Alicia Bridges and Susan Hutcheson
Performed by Alicia Bridges
Courtesy of Republic Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Guess who doesn't want you to see this movie?

A little bit of virtue signaling here, but if these folks don't speak the truth, who will?

I found the film better than I'd imagined. It has a refreshing style for sure and maybe watched by a lot of folks who need the truth put forth to be in this entertaining format. The title of the movie was not an attractive lure, though for me, and I almost passed watching it.

So who will not want you to watch this film? The twenty-first-century versions of those who have ruled all the human peasant and slave populations of the world since Homo Sapiens evolved. The same people who are employed by those at the top. They want to keep you under their feet. The "worker bees" that write the nasty reviews.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Mandarin Spanish Russian

Release Date:

27 September 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Laundromat

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anonymous Content, Grey Matter Productions, Netflix

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1