When a tech billionaire CEO (Jesse Plemons) and his Wife (Lily Collins) return to their vacation home on a whim, they walk into a robbery already in place by an unnamed burglar (Jason Segel). Panicked by their arrival, the burglar begins to extort the couple for more money while they try to assure him of his anonymity if he just takes the money and leaves them alone. 

Windfall is a new thriller directed by Charlie McDowell and written by Justin Lader and Andrew Kevin Walker released on Netflix. The film is a taught chamber piece that is heavily influenced by the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. From the opening title credits and the score by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans, the inspiration is undeniable, but unfortunately despite the strong start, the film begins to unravel a little too much making for a soft ending.   

What shines through, though, from the first frame to the last is the sense of tone and dread that McDowell bathes his story in. We are in it with the characters as we never quite know who has the upper hand on who in this story. It differs a little here from Hitchcock’s adage of cluing the audience in to the bomb under the table before it explodes. Windfall, by denying the audience any greater knowledge than the characters, relies more on surprise reveals in place of suspense. McDowell still manages great simmering tension throughout, but the film feels lacking. It does not have the teeth to really keep us actively engaged since we are really just along for the ride instead of being helpless observers of a tragedy unfolding. 

While Segel and Plemons tend to drive the film, it is Collins who is the real star of the show. She seemingly lays low for most of the film, but she has her own survival in mind and as the film makes that turn into the third act, McDowell kicks up the danger and Collins is given the reigns. This is where the script also begins to shine as until now it was mostly meandering around the extortion plot, but here in the third act the small details come back into play and the film starts to regain its focus. Up until now, no character was the true driving force of the narrative, rather it was the narrative which was driving the characters and it was circling its tail with no real purpose. Coupled with a few extra twists and turns, Collins’ finally takes control and rounds out the story in a way that – while on paper feels successful – in execution is kind of lackluster.   

Overall, Windfall is a film with a lot of promise behind it. McDowell has a clear vision in translating the story for the screen, and captures a great tone. His camera at once highlights the beauty of the tech mogul’s vacation villa, while Isiah Donté Lee’s cinematography also brings out the danger behind each corner. While the overall execution leaves something to be desired as the film fizzles out to an ending, it is still an enjoyable little chamber piece. It relies a little too heavily on ambiguity to create some of its tension, when a stronger commitment to the ideas behind the film would have certainly helped to elevate it, but as it stands it plays like a close knit thriller that we just do not see much of anymore. We never lose sight of the stakes of the film and that feeling of a need to survive is omnipresent which helps us engage with the characters that are otherwise left to be mysterious.