The Laundromat Review

Ahoy Captain Cats here and we are going to review a film that kind of oddly explains the Panama Papers and that film is The Laundromat. If you don’t know what are the Panama Papers, here is a quick video that Vox did that explains what they are.

The Laundromat is based on a book entitled Secrecy World: Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite by Jake Bernstein. The film is told from the point of view of Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca, who is portrayed by Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas and tells three tales of how the Panama Papers came to be and how they affect in different parts of the world. The first tale is about a woman named Ellen Martin who is played by Meryl Streep, who lost her husband in a boating accident. Soon after she finds out that the boating company that was being sued can’t pay at all due to the insurance company had changed hands to other companies and was under investigation by the IRS for fraud. Ellen went to Nevis to find the trust manager, which she bump into but was trick by him, only to see him being arrested at a Miami airport by IRS Agents.

The second tale is about the daughter of an African billionaire, who finds out about her father is having an affair with her best friend. After a serious talk, she was given shares from an investment company that was worth $20 million. She and her mother go to the main office of Mossack and Fonseca in Panama City, Panama, but only to find out they are worthless and that said company only exists on paper. The final tale is a dramatization of the Wang Lijun incident and the death of Neil Maywood.

The end of the showcased what happens when news broke about the Panama Papers and what happens to Mossack and Fonseca, both the people and the firm and some interesting notes about all of this.

The Laundromat is a mixed bag here because while the topic of the Panama Paper is so complex and still being investigated till this day, it was also a very entertaining film. Oldman and Banderas were great and played off from one another in every scene to the letter. Streep is always a joy to watch and you must watch the last 5 minutes to see why she been the most nominated actress of all time in the Oscars. While it was fun to watch, a great cast and wonderful performances, it still falls short in terms of trying to explain the situation and the pacing of the film can be a bit off from time to time. Would I recommend watching this, yes I would but don’t expect it to be an Oscar contender in 2020.