How much more story is there to tell about the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III? Ridley Scott recounted the tale in his somewhat truth bending thriller “All The Money In The World,” but Danny Boyle and his regular collaborator Simon Beaufoy believe they can get a whole season out of the bizarre, ear slicing incident. And frankly, we’re willing to gamble that it’ll be well worth the watch.
Donald Sutherland goes Scrooge McDuck in the role of John Paul Getty Sr., the ruthlessly penny pinching patriarch who refuses to part with a single nickel to help when his grandson is kidnapped. Enter the boy’s mother, played here by Hilary Swank, who does everything she can to get her son home. Here’s the official synopsis:
Inspired by actual events, Trust delves into the trials and triumphs of one of America’s wealthiest and unhappiest families, the Gettys. Equal parts family history, dynastic saga and an examination of the corrosive power of money, Trust explores the complexities at the heart of every family, rich or poor.
Told over multiple seasons and spanning the twentieth century, the series begins in 1973 with the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III (Harris Dickinson), an heir to the Getty oil fortune, by the Italian mafia in Rome. His captors banked on a multi-million-dollar ransom. After all, what rich family wouldn’t pay for the return of a loved one?
Paul’s grandfather, J. Paul Getty Sr. (Donald Sutherland), an enigmatic oil tycoon and possibly the richest man in the world, is marooned in a Tudor mansion in the English countryside surrounded by a harem of mistresses and a pet lion. He’s busy. Paul’s father, J. Paul Getty Jr. (Michael Esper), is lost in a daze in London and refuses to answer the phone. Only Paul’s mother, Gail Getty (Hilary Swank), is left to negotiate with the increasingly desperate kidnappers. Unfortunately, she’s broke. Trust charts the teenage grandson’s nightmare ordeal at the hands of kidnappers who cannot understand why nobody seems to want their captive back.
Co-starring Brendan Fraser, Anna Chancellor, Norbert Leo Butz, Charlotte Riley and Luca Marinelli, “Trust” debuts on March 25th.