Human Capital

Desperation drives ordinary people to play roulette in the world of high finance in Human Capital, an uneven ensemble drama about capitalist greed and ethical consequences.

Whether you sympathize with the troubled characters in this remake of a 2014 Italian film of the same name, however, depends on whether you feel their turmoil stems from bad decisions or from unfortunate circumstances. Such intriguing dynamics don’t sufficiently pay off.

The film opens with a fatal hit-and-run accident involving a waiter from a posh awards reception attended by various corporate and academic bigwigs. From there, its overlapping narrative fragments are unspooled in flashbacks.

Among those in attendance is Drew (Liev Schreiber), a fledgling real-estate agent who decides to invest more than he can afford in a hedge fund operated by slick-talking financier Quint (Peter Sarsgaard). Drew’s wife (Betty Gabriel) is pregnant with twins, and he gets in over his head pretty quickly by concealing details about his past and making false claims about his net worth.

Quint’s exasperated wife (Marisa Tomei) is an actress who wants to refurbish an old theater as a nonprofit project, but doesn’t feel supported. “Preservation is the opposite of progress,” explains Quint, again revealing his cutthroat corporate inclinations.

Meanwhile, as the partnership becomes more tenuous, Quint’s son (Fred Hechinger) is struggling with social acceptance and Drew’s teenage daughter (Maya Hawke) has found companionship with a wayward classmate (Alex Wolff) harboring secrets.

Although its themes hold up, this remake from director Marc Meyers (My Friend Dahmer) lacks the consistent tension of the more nuanced original. The awkward undercurrent leaves you unsettled, yet it rarely gets under your skin as intended.

Despite some strong performances, the central mystery in the screenplay by Oren Moverman (The Messenger) gradually becomes less important than the drama surrounding it. Some segments are more compelling than others.

Human Capital explores the allure of wealth and influence, and how that reckless pursuit can cause us to lose sight of what’s most important. Such misplaced priorities bring out the worst in average people, and innocent lives turn into collateral damage.

In this case, the heavy-handed execution struggles to tie those elusive ideas together, as the varied perspectives don’t add up to much in the end.

Not rated, 95 minutes.