

Kenny Wells, a modern-day prospector, hustler, and dreamer, is desperate for a lucky break. Left with few options, Wells teams up with an equally luckless geologist to execute a grandiose, last-ditch effort: to find gold deep in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia.
Acting
McConaughey commits fully to bodily transformation and manic desperation
Writing
Sharp dialogue that makes fraudsters weirdly sympathetic
Direction
Gaghan balances sweaty panic with boardroom absurdity

Director
Stephen Gaghan
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on the real 1993 Bre-X mining scandal where a Canadian company claimed massive Indonesian gold deposits that literally didn't exist—stock went from pennies to $280 before collapsing.
McConaughey gained 47 pounds and wore a prosthetic bald cap and rotten teeth; he based Kenny's voice on his own father's gravelly Texas drawl mixed with desperation.