Marisa Tomei is Chillingly Awesome in Human Capital

Liev Schreiber has become great at inhabiting roles in which he’s troubled, angst-ridden and underestimated as demonstrated weekly on Ray Donovan.  It’s a character that fits him like a glove and works well for him in Human Capital.  Drew (Liev Schrieber) is in dire need of cash and like most when faced with a desperate situation, always go for the easy way out that seems to be anything BUT easy.  When he hooks up with hedge fund manager Quint Manning (Peter Sarsgaard) things go awry rapidly as his complicated life becomes intertwined with Manning’s dramatic set of circumstances.

Human Capital shares the lives of two families learning the difference between love and pleasure vs lies, deceit and honesty.  Yet, at the end of the day, it’s the female forces in their lives that ultimately take charge and turn everything around while they all face possible murder charges.

Marisa Tomei (Carrie) is unleashing acting prowess that has been on display a lot lately.  She is leaning into that dark, complicated side that we witnessed on Fox’s EMPIRE and is bringing it to a whole new level in this film.  She clearly wears the pants and makes no apologies for it.

Based on a 2004 novel by Stephen Amidon, you would expect the performances to be grounded and bold.  Unfortunately, the final payoff story wise doesn’t match up to the brilliance of its cast and with moments that linger a little too long and others that feel a little contrived storyline wise.  What was interesting to me was the subtle statement made about class.  How those with little to no money are always viewed as lesser than and unnecessary to the vital strength of society from a fiscal vantage point.  It’s always a consequence that lingers as to why those with money and power seem to prevail no matter what the consequences.

Judge for yourself by streaming Human Capital via DirectTV and VOD.