The Founder (John Lee Hancock, 2016)

The story of how the McDonald's empire arose from one outlet in California run by a pair of brothers, The Founder benefits from the decision to give the role of Ray Kroc, the itinerant salesman who approaches the brothers in the 1950s to develop their business to Michael Keaton, who can do persuasive sloganeering and wheedling in his sleep. This is exactly what the role requires, as Kroc's natural capitalist opportunist sees the brothers' intransigence when he repeatedly tries to convince them to compromise for the sake of financial gain as carte blanche for him to act as he pleases with their brand, first rapidly creating a chain of franchises and then taking over completely. In other words, the title of the film really refers to Kroc as the founder of the empire, rather than the actual founders of the first restaurant. His machinations are the dramatic driving force of the story, and while that doesn't leave for much else of a human dimension, it's surprisingly entertaining given the potentially dry subject matter.

6/10