Uneven drama about the kidnapping of J.Paul Getty's grandson in Italy in the early 1970's. Christopher Plummer replaced Kevin Spacey long after the entire film was finished, resulting in complete reshooting of numerous scenes. The results are uneven - Plummer's performance is much better than might be expected under such difficult circumstances, but many of his scenes feel awkward, especially in reaction shots that were often shot much earlier with Spacey. Plummer still received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor, but it felt more like a political statement in support of Spacey's firing for sexual harrassement, than an honest and impartial evaluation of a performance. Moreover, Plummer's role isn't really a supporting one. He has far more screen time than Anthony Hopkins had in "The Silence of the Lambs" - and who won an Oscar as best actor because it felt like a leading performance even though, in terms of actual screen time, it was actually a supporting role. But Plummer doesn't leave such a strong impression, and as result, he was only nominated as a supporting actor because his role felt like a supporting role even though, in terms of actual screen time, it could have been considered as a leading performance. One can only speculate whether the film with Kevin Spacey was actually better, or whether Spacey would have been nominated for best actor and whether he would actually won. And unless the other version of the film will eventually be shown, we will never know.
