Gold || Movie Review
The Plot
The movie, Gold, was released in the year 2022, directed by Anthony Hayes. It starred Zac Efron as the lead actor. There was actually no mention of the name of his character in the movie. The story line entails his plan to make it to a place called the Compound. Apparently, his previous life which was unknown to us was full of mistakes and regrets. It was clear that he definitely had a rough life from the scars on his face.
Sypnosis
The movie started off with a scene whereby he arrived at a desert where he was able to get himself a driver that agreed to take him to the Compound. While they drove through the empty and dusty dessert, their vehicle broke down due to overheating. While the driver was trying to fix the vehicle, Zac Efron came across a large mass of gold that was buried to the earth with a little portion of it being visible. He called the attention of the driver and they both stared in amazement what they had just seen.
The only way for them to get the gold out was with the help of an excavator. So they both agreed that the driver would go on a journey to the nearest city to get the excavator while Zac Efron stayed back and watched over the Gold. It was a horrible experience for him staying back watching over the gold under the scotching sun with little food and water to sustain himself with. He also had a radio he used to communicate with the driver as he was on the road.
The Climax
Things begin to go zig zag when a scavenger lady makes her way into the scene and begins to pester Zac Efron, denying him breathing space. She was all suspicious about him hiding something. He tried his best to keep her away from discovering the Gold but she kept on getting closer to the location where he had secured the it.
For fearing of the woman seeing the Gold which was supposed to be meant for him and the driver, he ended up killing her by smacking her with a shovel at the back of her head. After he killed her he dragged her body to a spot and buried her there.
The estimated time of the driver's arrival gradually began to extend, leaving Zac Efron with almost no food left and water to survive. Dehydrated and starved, he kept on getting weaker. He could barely take note of what was happening around him. Some nights, wolves that were lurking around in the desert came to his location but he managed to scare them off. One afternoon as he laid almost lifeless on the ground, a woman with the same face of the scavenger he had killed came towards him but he thought he was hallucinating.
She kept coming at intervals, offering to fix up a meal for him and some water to drink but he shunned her off. When he managed to regain himself, she came to him again. This time she asked him if he had seen her sister around. That was when he realized it was the twin sister of the scavenge whom he had killed.
As usual, he shunned her off, telling her he had no idea what she was talking about. Finally, the driver reached out to him on the radio and told him he was close by.
On anticipation of his arrival, the wolves visited him once more. This was a really bad time because Zac Efron had little or no strength in him due to starvation, dehydration and the effects of the scorching sun. Zac Efron wasn't so lucky this time. The wolves where in their numbers and they took advantage of the current state. Zac Efron tried reaching out to the driver whose car he saw from a distance, but he got no response.
The wolves, observing his vulnerability, pounces on him and begin to feed on him. Zac Efron lied on the ground lifelessly as the wolves fed on his flesh. All these happened while the driver watched from a distance. After he was certain that Zac Efron was dead, he made his way to where the Gold was. After attaching the Gold with a rope that was tied to an excavator in order to pull it from the ground, an arrow is shot at him and he dies.
My Opinion
Honestly speaking, I was somewhat disappointed in the movie. The beginning of the movie kept me in suspense; wondering the true identity of Zac Efron's character, not to talk of the fact that we never even got to know his name. There was no background information about the guy or how he ended up in the desert. We never even got to know what was the story behind the scars on his face.
What annoyed me the most was the ending part of the movie. After all Zac Efron went through to secure the gold; the hunger, the thirst, the sun that literally scorched his skin, he ended up dying for nothing. From the last scene of the movie, it was obvious that it was the scavenger's twin who shot the driver with an arrow. So that means that she was the one who made away with the Gold. That seems messed up to me. Someone who came out of the blues and did nothing concerning the Gold all of a sudden became the one to wield the treasure.
It definitely ended in an unexpected way for me. I tried to read some sensible meanings to the ending but I was just unable to. I really believe that they could have done much more better.
Source of images: IMBd