Mountainhead movie review: Like watching the BTS of a Nikhil Kamath podcast, HBO's Succession successor punches up at plutocracy

Indian Express

2 days ago

When Nikhil Kamath interviewed Ranbir Kapoor on his podcast, he admitted that he hasn't quite figured out the art of detachment like Marcus Aurelius. 'You like Marcus' writing?' Kapoor asked. 'Yes, I like a couple of his books,' Kamath said. This bizarre exchange deserves to be unpacked in a separate article, but, for the purposes of this one, let's focus on two things. One, the Zerodha founder reads the work of a Roman emperor in his spare time, and two, the star of Jagga Jasoos probably thinks they were talking about someone who wrote a self-help bestseller. Several conversations of this nature unfold in Mountainhead, the new film from Jesse Armstrong, creator of HBO's Succession. Marcus Aurelius is invoked as well; in fact, so are Mark Antony and other great historical figures.
The movie follows four men — three billionaires and one millionaire — who get together in a snowy mountain retreat for a weekend getaway, while the 'outside world' descends into chaos. 'No deals, no meals, no women in heels,' is the motto of the get-together, which seems like something of a tradition. Steve Carell plays a veteran named Randall, who has just received a disheartening cancer diagnosis. Corey Michael Smith, who was so good in May December and Saturday Night, plays Ven, the owner of a Twitter-like social media app. He's the richest man in the room. Ramy Youssef plays Jeff, whose company is making waves in the field of artificial intelligence, and Jason Schwartzman plays Souper, who feels insecure about being the only person whose net worth hasn't hit a billion yet.
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While the agenda is to have no agenda, the four men arrive at Souper's snowy chalet with ulterior motives. Ven wants to acquire Jeff's company so that he can curb the spread of disinformation on his platform — not because he's an altruistic hero, but because he wants to avoid accountability. Randall wants Ven to consider starting work on uploading human consciousness onto computers, mainly to prolong his own life; Souper, on the other hand, plans on pitching his meditation app to the others. Each of them is petty, vindictive, self-centred — sort of like the characters in Succession.
Jeff is the only one who seems concerned about the anarchy unfolding outside; much of the violence has been demonstrably incited by the disinformation being spread on Ven's app. The news says that 400 people were burned alive in a riot-like situation in Gujarat. There's violence in Azerbaijan, in Turkey, in regions all around the world. Ven keeps trying to deflect blame, pretending like this is the best advertisement for his app that he could've asked for. Things get real when he receives a call from the President, who gives him a slap on the wrist for his (significant) role in causing the global catastrophe. Jeff, meanwhile, knows that he's sitting on the cure for this disease. His AI system can sift through the fake news and provide real-time fact-checks. Unsurprisingly, his net worth sky-rockets over the weekend, much to Randall's chagrin.
Mountainhead is like watching the BTS for one of Kamath's day-long podcasts, as if it were shot by a Stanley Kubrick devotee. It doesn't take the four men too long to plan a global takeover; Souper, it is decided, will become President of Argentina. He's delighted. Like Randall and Ven, he views this as an opportunity for humankind to 'evolve'. They actually view themselves as Roman emperors introducing the masses to the idea of civilisation. Nero fiddled while Rome burned; Souper, on the other hand, keeps talking about snacks. Through much of the movie, Schwartzman plays him like a needy tag-along who's used to being picked last during sports period. His significant wealth is basically loose change when compared to the fortunes that the other three are sitting on.
For the most part, Mountainhead feels like an extended episode of Succession — directed by Armstrong himself, the narrative is photographed through long lenses, which, like it did in the HBO show, gives the impression that you're looking at zoo animals from a distance. The writing, as expected, is as sharp as anything that Armstrong has done before — besides Succession, he also worked on The Thick of It, Four Lions, and Veep. Most of the humour in Mountainhead is directed at the insecure personalities of the four men. Not a single punch is thrown — although, at one point, Randall drops a bowling ball on someone — but these dudes inflict more violence (upon more people) than Unni Mukundan did in Marco.
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The tone shifts drastically in Mountainhead's final act, when Randall and Ven peer pressure Souper into committing a murder. The zinger-a-minute dialogue remains intact, but the satire makes way for farce. Randall continues quoting historical figures, Ven plays with his baby by putting it on the floor and looking at it from a distance, Souper does just about anything to feel included; people fall over each other in a comical fashion. The glaring cynicism on display will make Mountainhead almost impossible to watch for the sort of folks who follow Elon Musk on social media and consume portfolios for breakfast; the sort of folks who follow Finance with Sharan for investment advice and watch BeerBiceps to learn about geopolitics. But Mountainhead is a movie that understands the absurdity of existence; a 2 GB data plan can sometimes be more dangerous than a nuclear warhead.
Mountainhead
Director – Jesse Armstrong
Cast – Steve Carell, Cory Michael Smith, Jason Schwartzman, Ramy Youssef
Rating – 4/5
Rohan Naahar is an assistant editor at Indian Express online. He covers pop-culture across formats and mediums. He is a 'Rotten Tomatoes-approved' critic and a member of the Film Critics Guild of India. He previously worked with the Hindustan Times, where he wrote hundreds of film and television reviews, produced videos, and interviewed the biggest names in Indian and international cinema. At the Express, he writes a column titled Post Credits Scene, and has hosted a podcast called Movie Police.
You can find him on X at @RohanNaahar, and write to him at [e-mail]. He is also on LinkedIn and Instagram. ... Read More