The Coen brothers have blessed us with numerous fascinating dark comedy films throughout their career. So, their work is bound to impact contemporary and future filmmakers. The most notable recent example of their influence is the HBO series, “Barry.” Even Bill Hader never shied away from appreciating the filmmaking duo’s work. “Greedy People” (2024) attempts to do the same. Written by Michael Vukadinovich and directed by Potsy Ponciroli, it follows two small-town cops whose lives quickly turn as they investigate a murder case. The film stars Himesh Patel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Lily James in the central roles.
Spoilers Ahead
Greedy People (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“Greedy People” is a dark comedy mystery thriller that follows the events from the lives of two cops who investigate a murder that happens in their small island town. Their lives drastically change as they step further into this journey.
What happens in ‘Greedy People’ (2024)?
“Greedy People” follows Officer Will Shelley (Himesh Patel) and his pregnant wife, Paige (Lily James), who recently moved into a small island town. Will is anxious to start his work at the new station. His boss, Officer Murphy (Uzo Aduba), introduces him to his on-duty partner, Officer Terry Brogan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). While showing Will around the town, Terry talks about the monotonous nature of their job due to a low crime rate. Besides petty thefts or fights, their department rarely deals with ‘real’ cases. Then, Will talks about his past. He reveals his father was once arrested for a bank robbery. Terry finds it amusing that Will decided to be a cop despite that background.
During the drive, Terry reveals his varied interests from learning Mandarin to making music. He gets them some food & coffee. Then, he stops by his girlfriend, Yu Yan’s (Yingling Zhu) house for a quick break. Soon, he receives an alert about a suspicious intruder at a local home. He tries to alert Terry, who is busy with Yu Yan. So, Will heads to the said house by himself. He sees the door open, warns about the police presence, and walks in. Regardless, the house owner’s wife, Virginia Chetlo (Traci Lords), can’t hear him because of her headphones. Only when Will reaches the kitchen does she notice him, and the trouble begins.
Why and how does Virginia die?
Will mistakenly shoots one of the vases inside the Chetlo residence. So, Virginia gets furious and starts beating him senselessly. Then she tries to choke him to death. While protecting himself, Will faints and falls with her body under his. Moments later, he realizes that she has accidentally died as a piece of wood gets caught in her skull. Soon, Terry shows up there and realizes what happened. He reveals that Will misinterpreted the alert. It wasn’t about a burglary but a sexual act or a car violation. Terry knows Virginia calls with that alert since her son often brings girls into his room. Anyhow, Will starts panicking, realizing he may lose his job. He worries about how this will affect his family as he and Paige expect a child.
Terry doesn’t help in pacifying Will. Instead, he makes Will feel worse. He also worries that this crime will indicate he bailed on his duty to have sex with his girlfriend. Soon, he discovers a basket filled with a lot of cash. So, suddenly, he changes his mind and decides to cover up the crime scene and help Will simultaneously. Once that is done, Terry & Will leave with the load of cash. While Will is on the job, Paige gets bored by herself and their pet dog. She goes to a local store to buy some wall paint. While speaking about the paint, the manager sees a man called ‘The Irishman’ infamous for offering service to ‘make people’s problems go away’ (murder them). Paige learns about him for the first time.
Who gets accused of murdering Virginia Chetlo?
Will feels that he should plead innocence as he was trying to defend himself against Mrs. Chetlo. Eventually, he agrees to Terry’s plan of fleeing the crime scene since his family history will make him the most possible suspect. On their way out, Will realizes that the bike, which was there before he entered the house, has gone missing. But Terry ignores Will’s doubt. While driving away, Terry crosses paths with his old flame, Bobette (Joey Lauren Adams). He stops her car for overspeeding and gives her a ticket. Soon, they return to the Chetlo residence to inspect the house with Officer Murphy.
At the house, they see Virginia’s husband, Wallace (Tim Blake Nelson), mourning his wife’s death. He claims he doesn’t know how Virginia was murdered. Will and Terry reveal they briefly visited the house to check on her complaint. The duo directs Murphy to suspect Wallace of the murder. Later, they hide the money in a desolate storage unit. Then, Will returns home and tells Paige that Terry killed Virginia. Paige believes in Will’s lie and worries for his safety. Around the same time, Bobette returns the speeding ticket Terry issued her to Murphy. Murphy notices the time on the ticker, 03:25 PM, which contradicts Terry’s alibi.
Why did the Chetlos have money stashed in their basket?
When Terry & Will clean the crime scene, Virginia’s masseur, Keith Crawford (Simon Rex), sees them but leaves the house without their notice. During the investigation, Terry and Will show up at Keith’s house to make him confess to the crime. Keith reveals he also provided Virginia with sexual favors from time to time. His mother (Neva Howell) attests to it. Then, Keith notes that his mother picked him up at Virginia’s house after work. Meanwhile, Wallace worries he will get implicated in the murder. Turns out, he had assigned a hired gun called The Colombian (José María Yazpik) to kill Virginia. In exchange, he offered a considerable sum, the same Terry found in their basket.
Terry was having an affair with his associate, Deborah (Nina Arianda), and wanted to lead a happy life with her. That’s why he decided to get Virginia killed so that he can start a new life with Deborah. However, after Virginia’s death, The Colombian claims he never received the money he was supposed to get. So, Terry is concerned not just about the police investigation but about paying off The Colombian, who arrived at his house only after Virginia’s death.
Now, Wallace cannot even leave the town even if he wants to. Meanwhile, Will invites Terry for a meal with him & Paige. During the dinner, Paige asks Terry about his experience as a cop and its perks. As the daughter of a cop, she knows cops can get away with some things. Hearing that, Terry suspects Will told her about their stolen money. On the other hand, Paige becomes sure Terry killed Virginia.
Greedy People (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
After the dinner with Terry, Will & Paige find their pet dog dead in the garden. She suspects Terry killed it and worries about their family’s future. The next day, Terry hints that she shouldn’t snoop into their personal matters. The same day, she discovers Terry’s hidden money in a storage unit. So, she privately contacts The Irishman, assigns him to kill Terry, and pays him with the stash of money she finds. On the other hand, Terry learns that Wallace had an affair with his secretary earlier. He claims that is his motive for killing Virginia. But a motive isn’t enough. The available evidence suggests otherwise.
Deborah tries to pin the murder on Keith since he was at the house before Virginia died. So, at night, she and Wallace show up at Keith’s house to scare him into confessing. Will has trouble falling asleep. So, he also drives up to Keith’s house and parks his car at a distance. From there, he sees Wallace & Virginia’s violent encounter with the Crawfords that kills everyone except Deborah. Seeing that, Will drives away joyfully, thinking he won’t get caught for the crime. But he doesn’t know that The Colombian is following him. Meanwhile, The Irishman attacks Terry and tries to kill him. Instead, Terry drowns him to death. Then, he suspects Will sent The Irishman to kill him. So, he reaches the storage unit to find the money gone.
Who gets the money in the end?
Terry confronts Will about the money and the hit order. Will assures Terry that he did not hire anyone to kill him. But Terry believes Will told Paige about their stolen money. So, Will phones Paige to tell the truth. Paige ends up mentioning what Will told her: ‘Terry killed Virginia.’ So, Terry gets furious and shoots Will to death. Paige hears that and decides to head there. On a bridge, she gets caught in traffic. There, Terry shows up and starts shooting her. She runs away to protect herself. By then, Murphy realizes a few bits of the truth. She shows up at the bridge and saves Terry from killing Paige.
Before dying, Terry tells Paige that he did not kill Virginia, but Will did. After this incident, Paige is hospitalized and has a baby. Murphy shows up there to reveal details of her or Will’s involvement in the recent crimes. But Paige feigns ignorance while the money stays hidden in a nearby unit. Once Murphy leaves, The Colombian shows up in Paige’s room and kills her. He takes the money and enters the lift. There, he meets Deborah. By the end of their trip, they both kill each other. Murphy discovers them with a bag of cash. Later, with Paige’s death, Murphy adopts Paige’s baby. Things go full circle since it also allows her a chance to be a mother a while after the death of her son.
Greedy People (2024) Movie Review:
“Greedy People” is one of the recent Coen brothers-inspired dark comedic thrillers that try to investigate the corrupt aspects of human nature. From its title, one might assume the prime motivation for its characters is greed. It isn’t. Instead, they attempt to escape their past, carving a new identity for themselves to seek happiness. Pleasure means different for different characters. For Terry, it has to do with his usual routine, his hobbies, and his sexual relationship with his girlfriend. He feels disdain for many aspects of his past, whether Bobette or the ennui. For Wallace, it is an escape from his joyless marriage.
On the other hand, Will wants to leave the dreadful reputation of his family name behind. He sees a life with Paige in a new town as a source of happiness. Still, despite the film’s lucrative ideas and neat structure, it feels surprisingly lackluster for a couple of reasons. A dark comedy inherently depends on laughing at human nature’s evils. “Greedy People” occasionally negates it to laughter at the sudden bursts of unpredictable violence. Although they are entertaining (and make you laugh at a tragic moment), such scenes seem absurd.
In fact, such scenes appear like cop-outs the writers used to tie the narrative threads neatly for a satisfying ending. On top of that, the tonal shifts between the film’s tragic, black comedic, and sentimental notes are not nearly as smooth as required. For all these reasons, “Greedy People” feels like a substandard Coen brothers flick imitation despite its incredible cast.
Read More: All Coen Brothers Movies, Ranked From “Ok” to “Great”
Greedy People (2024) Movie Trailer:
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