Swimming With Sharks (1994)

IMDb plot summary: A young, naive Hollywood studio assistant finally turns the tables on his incredibly abusive producer boss.

Directed by George Huang. Starring Kevin Spacey, Frank Whaley, Michelle Forbes, and Benicio Del Toro.

This all hinges on Frank Whaley and Kevin Spacey's performances, and they are both great. Spacey has always excelled at playing cold, cruel people, and this is no exception. And Whaley's ruthless ambition shines through even in the early scenes before we wonder if he's starting to be corrupted by his boss' view of power. The third lead is a female character and her treatment in the movie... well, leaves more than a little to be desired. While that definitely is meant to speak to the obvious misogyny of Spacey's character and how he sees her, the film doesn't do a GREAT job of fleshing her out as an individual, and I think that was a missed opportunity. However, it's still largely a smart, interesting film and I did still have a good time watching it.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Swimming With Sharks > Pitch Perfect 2

Swimming With Sharks < Chronicle

Swimming With Sharks < A Doll's House

Swimming With Sharks < You Can Count on Me

Swimming With Sharks > Hamlet (2009)

Swimming With Sharks > Bonnie and Clyde

Swimming With Sharks > Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Swimming With Sharks < Bridge of Spies

Swimming With Sharks > Cast Away

Swimming With Sharks > Pather Panchali

Swimming With Sharks > A Star Is Born (1954)

Final spot: #1448 out of 3277, or 56%, which seems far too low but the chart doesn't lie!