Inheritance
Spy thriller ruminates on the financial and genetic gifts and curses parents pass on to their children.
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“Inheritance” (in select theaters beginning Friday, Jan. 24) is an espionage film that simultaneously hews closely to the conventions of the subgenre while also branching out with its own adventurous style and tone. It ain’t perfect, but it’s certainly interesting.
Maya (Phoebe Dynevor) is a young New Yorker who’s spent the past year taking care of her sickly mother. When Mom passes away Maya’s estranged father Sam (Rhys Ifans) surprisingly shows up to the funeral – much to the chagrin of Maya’s sister Jess (Kersti Bryan).
Sam offers Maya a vague real estate job working alongside him traveling the world and gives her a significant chunk of change up front to sweeten the deal. They quickly jet away to Cairo and no sooner is Sam snagged by some shadowy types. An Interpol agent (Necar Zadegan, late of Paramount+’s “Mayor of Kingstown”) wants to speak to Maya regarding her Dad’s deeds and disappearance. Turns out Sam’s a spy of sorts.
Maya’s now on the run bopping between Delhi and Mumbai, India and Seoul, South Korea looking for answers and evading her pursuers.
“Inheritance” is directed by Neil Burger (the varied, veteran filmmaker behind “The Illusionist,” “Limitless” and teen fare such as “Divergent” and “Voyagers”) and co-scripted by Burger and spy novelist Olen Steinhauer. Burger and his cinematographer Jackson Hunt (“The Standoff at Sparrow Creek”) shot the flick entirely on iPhones and it shows, but it also gives the proceedings an immediacy that’s intoxicating. They’re stealing shots much like the kleptomaniac Maya might swipe a bottle of booze. The results are sometimes reminiscent of Paul Greengrass’ “Bourne” pictures, but I was more often reminded of some sort of hybrid between Steven Soderbergh’s “Bubble” and his espionage offering “Haywire.” This cell phone cinematography results in a motorbike chase sequence that’s invigorating and unlike any I’ve seen before. It’s all kinda punk rock.
I wasn’t familiar with Dynevor coming into “Inheritance” as I don’t watch “Bridgerton” and haven’t seen the Netflix sexual politics picture “Fair Play,” but I was impressed by her. Maya’s a complex protagonist who’s smart but damaged and Dynevor manages to make her likable and sympathetic.
Ifans is an actor I’m very familiar with and of whom I’m a fan (a buddy and I often quote his, “I’m wiry,” line from “The Replacements”) and he’s a long way from his goofy roommate character from “Notting Hill.” Ifans has played heavies before (The Lizard in “The Amazing Spider-Man,” Grigori Rasputin in “The King’s Man”), but there was still some silliness at play. There’s a scene late in “Inheritance” where his acting both scared and shook me.
There are plot holes big enough to drive a Mack Truck through. There’s absolutely no way in hell Maya could globe hop in the way she does with Interpol on her ass, but it’s this stripped-down globetrotting that makes the flick fun. Burger’s gotten rid of the ketchup, the mustard and all the fixings, but the final product’s still pretty juicy.