Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas bring us a story of capitalism, greed and tax avoidance. The film focuses on the story of a woman who’s husband, along with twenty others, is killed in a boating accident. When she searches for answers about compensation for his death, she finds fake insurance companies that are actually set up by the rich on remote islands to avoid paying tax.
The style of the film is very entertaining with Oldman and Banderas acting as narrators of the exposition with long side tracks as well as following their characters’ actual journeys. The sets are lavish and the graphics and animation are great tools to convey the confusing laws about tax evasion and avoidance. It is a great examination of the way that certain individuals are attempting to hoard wealth by immoral (but still legal) means and how they affect others.
The structure of several mini stories inside the bigger story is very compelling and really sells the danger of the trade and the human side of the bigger issue. Streep, as usual, gives an incredible performance and sheds some light on a very serious issue.
‘The Laundromat’ is available to stream on on Netflix.
Pep Reviews 