By Susan Granger
Scrolling through ‘new releases’ on Prime, you may stumble across a survival satire titled “Rich Flu” – but its catchy title is the only thing recommending it.
Conceived by Spanish director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia and several co-writers, it’s a dystopian thriller about a global pandemic that only affects the very rich.
Movie executive Laura Palmer (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) epitomizes the cynical ‘jet-setter,’ divorcing her estranged husband Toni (Rafe Spall), and pausing only briefly to have a birthday video chat with her daughter Anna (Dixie Egericks).
When the Pope suddenly dies, Laura barely notices since she’s flying far North to meet with her oligarch boss, Sebastian Snail Sr. (Timothy Spall), who distributes copies of Henry David Thorou’s “Walden” to snowbound attendees, noting “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.”
Laura gets a big promotion; as head of charitable contributions, she will spend a fortune on a specific painting in a London auction at Buckingham Palace.
Problem is: rich people – billionaires, then millionaires – all over the world are dying from a mysterious plague that turns their teeth a shiny, shimmering white.
Obviously, this ‘glowing teeth’ disease is a metaphor about the decadence that accompanies wealth and privilege. But Gaztelu-Urrutia then changes tone entirely, simplistically diving deep into capitalistic inequality and class conflict.
After Laura joins Anna and Toni at the Barcelona home of her mother Martha (Lorraine Bracco), they’re desperate to escape as frightened, affluent people crowd onto dilapidated boats, crossing the Mediterranean, headed for Africa, which they believe is a sanctuary.
Eventually, Laura winds up in a refugee camp, experiencing the desperation and deprivation that poor, displaced immigrants suffer – until she makes her way to a secluded island, joining a primitive commune that expects its members to share their possessions. But can Laura really overcome her instinctive greed?
None of it makes much sense – which may be why actors Rosamund Pike and Macaulay Culkin, who were originally on-board, defected.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Rich Flu” is a tedious 3, streaming on Prime.
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Susan Granger
Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in Journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has appeared on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie critic for many years. Read all her reviews at susangranger.com.
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