Ransom

Charlie Nightengale wins an enormous Powerball jackpot and his life goes to hell. I know, this story is as old as “boy meets girl,” but in “Ransom”, Charlie’s wife Betsy is kidnapped by a group that plays Robin Hood, buying her a new wardrobe, flying her in a Gulfstream corporate jet to a fancy dinner, replacing her blown-up Toyota Camry with a high end Lexus, and delivering her back to Charlie, but not before her ransom provides an endowment to take care of her for the rest of her life. The group, of course, gets its “commission” and Betsy gets her own million dollars to squander, in addition to her endowment, although the costs of her new car and the night out in Houston are deducted. Betsy’s home safely, but her plans for the rest of Charlie’s money is the surprise.

“Ransom” explores the various options and situations that sudden wealth creates. Some of these options and situations are positive, others are not, and the pressures on recipients change significantly with the new money and each decision about how to spend it. Charlie is a young attorney at an established firm; he and his buddy Zach, also an attorney at the firm, are not far removed from the frat boy stereotype regardless of the fact that they earn good salaries. Betsy is chief financial officer at a local community college, so she sees the world quite differently than does her husband. Betsy is responsible, calm, and rational, although realistic. These different views of American society are a driving theme in “Ransom.” Betsy is the one transformed by the jackpot and its consequences.