Inheritance (2020)
In the cinematic blur that was 2020, a lot of movies probably got swept under the rug. Inheritance went straight to streaming in America and was shown in theaters overseas, where it made a paltry three-hundred thousand dollars plus change. Did the movie deserve to get left behind? Yeah, pretty much, although it’s an interesting concept and starts out strong.
Lauren Monroe is the chief executor and heiress of the powerful New York Monroe family. Her brother, William is a senator and all set for re-election except that he’s towing baggage of the corrupt persuasion.
When their father dies, Lauren is given a thumb drive with a message from her father. He’s got some secrets. The biggest one involves a guy named Morgan who he’s kept inprisoned in a bunker in the woods on the Monroe estate. Lauren can’t tell anyone under any circumstances because it would ruin the Monroe family.
Lauren treks out into the woods and finds the bunker, where a chained Morgan paces around repeating the recipe for key lime pie to himself. He tries to tell her his story, but Lauren is extremely skeptical, even when what he tells her checks out. She honors Dad’s wishes and doesn’t tell anyone, not even her husband, but it all seems crazy.
After Lauren finally relents and lets Morgan out of his prison, it becomes clear that there’s more to Morgan than he’s let on. A whole lot more. He’s also remarkably spry and healthy for a guy who’s spent a decade or two underground all by his lonesome.
While Inheritance is strangely compelling, the thrills come cheap. Chase Crawford as William is too bland to be corrupt. Lily Collins is very one-note as Lauren. Simon Pegg plays a good part, but he can’t save the movie, probably because it sets up too many scenarios that it doesn’t fulfill, like the key lime pie thing. We never find out what the point of that was.
It also takes too many logic leaps for what should be a very calculated plot. The first and most pressing question is: Why doesn’t Lauren tell anyone? Her lawyer? Her mother? Whoever. The second is: Why does it take her so long to show anyone a photo of Morgan?
Sure, Lauren’s dad had demanded secrecy, but we all know what we should do when secrets might lead to someone getting hurt or worse: Tell a trusted adult.
Another frequent question about this movie is, “How on God’s green earth did someone as green as Lauren become a DA?” Actually, that one’s not such a mystery. Bad or inexperienced DAs happen. Depending on where one lives, they might happen a lot (Looking at you, San Francisco Bay Area).
In terms of Lauren’s character, though, being green doesn’t do her any favors because it flies in the face of her family’s supposedly stellar reputation. She might come across as smart and savvy when she’s actually just brittle and haphazard. That pretty much sums up Inheritance as well.
Inheritance is streaming on Tubi. Rated TV-MA.
My grade: C+
Principal Cast: Lily Collins, Simon Pegg, Connie Nielsen, Chace Crawford, Patrick Warburton, Marque Richardson, Michael Beach, Rebecca Adams, Alec James, Josh Murray, Mariyah Francis, Joe Herrera, Lucas Alexander Ayoub, Lydia Hand, Jim E. Chandler, Donna Rae Allen, Christina DeRosa, Hartley Burch
Directed by Vaughn Stein.
Written by Matthew Kennedy.