A documentary that follows a billionaire couple as they begin construction on a mansion inspired by Versailles. Read more …
During the next two years, their empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic crisis.
This is not primarily a film with a moral lesson, nor is it an inappropriate sympathy plea on behalf of one of the richest families in the world. Director Lauren Greenfield’s perspective is at once less focused and more interesting than that.
The temptation to be moralistic must have been overpowering, yet Greenfield finally manages to summon sympathy for people who at first seem vain, selfish and greedy. It’s quite an achievement.
The story has no neat ending – David is suing Greenfield for defamation of character, and surely stands no chance – but as a report on consumerism gone mad it's hard to beat.
A bizarre and mesmerising journey to the heart of Cloud Cuckoo Land.
Beyond the schadenfreude, the film suggests that the Siegels are only an extreme example of the aspirational, beyond-your-means lifestyle we all share.
Lauren Greenfield could not have foreseen the richness and resonance of the material that was to come her way when she embarked on the story of David and Jackie Siegel, a billionaire Florida couple from humble origins devoted to conspicuous consumption.
Lauren Greenfield's film starts off strongly with a great character in Jacqueline Siegel and only becomes more jaw-droppingly engrossing as her pretty world falls apart. Truly the rich suffer too.
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General release. Check local listings for show times.