What would you do if you found a large sum of money in a bag in the middle of nowhere and no one knew about it? That’s the question at the heart of the new Canadian thriller A Small Fortune. And that question is one that everyone has asked themselves at some point or another.
Kevin (Stephen Oates, Frontier) is a simple man, living a simple life in Prince Edward Island, who has one really big problem. His wife is pregnant with their first child. He doesn’t bring in nearly enough money to support them, let alone a baby. All of that changes however when he finds a bag on money on the beach. Since no one is around to see, Kevin decides to take the money for himself. He can finally start giving his wife the life she deserves. Unfortunately for him more things start to float to shore. And eventually, someone comes to the town looking for what he claims is his.
The basic plot of A Small Fortune has been done before. We’ve seen this plot in films like A Simple Plan to the Oscar winning No Country For Old Men. All three show dangers of finding money and trying to keep it. But A Small Fortune is unique simply because Kevin’s motivation isn’t greed, it’s desperation. It’s this desperation that causes him to dig himself into a much bigger hole than he had to be in. Viewers spend much of the film wondering what Kevin will do next, when he will tell someone the truth and how he will survive when whoever catches him. In a way it’s hard to understand Kevin’s logic of why he does the things he does. But viewers need to keep in mind he’s not the smartest of men.
The real charm of the film is the setting, and how the characters interact with one another and view the world around them. It’s interesting that the director chose to make the smartest person in the movie an outsider (Andrea Bang, Kim’s Convenience). She wants the island to accept her as a local police officer, but she runs into several barricades due to her race and gung-ho attitude. Those barricades also exist because of her boss, the local sheriff. She’s really the only one intelligent enough though to know what needs to be done.
A Small Fortune is a low budget thriller with a real maritime feel and charm that doesn’t try to be more than it is. It keeps you intrigued from start to finish and entertains you the way a good movie should.
