When his ex-boss offers a chance to make “some real money,” fast-talking commodities broker Rory (Jude Law) thinks for about a second — America isn’t working out for him — before telling wife Allison (Carrie Coon) and their kids Samantha (Oona Roche) and Ben (Charlie Shotwell) that it’s time to pack up the stable and move back to London. Unfortunately, writer-director Sean Durkin let his characters down by forgetting to pack a narrative. Disquietude set in at around the 30-minute mark. We know that something bad (good?) is poised to happen, it’s the lack of that other thing in lieu of a “what” and “when” that brings on the jitters. We begin to question the necessity of scenes: other than establishing that Samamtha takes after chain-smoking Allison, why the need for mom to find her daughter’s hidden ashtray? We follow Ben after he’s shooed out of Amanda’s room, but nothing ever comes of it. Law has the tan, frame, and insouciance needed to fill out his expensive wardrobe, while Coon excels at gradually allowing signs of her impending collapse to emerge. (One delights in watching her guzzle directly from the bottle after the maitre d’ offers a cork to sniff.) But if all we have to take from this journey is news that Rory’s job is to pretend to be rich for a living, one must question the necessity of the trip. (2020) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.