Watch The Laundromat

The Laundromat, directed by Steven Soderbergh, is a 2019 film loosely based on the Panama Papers scandal. The movie stars Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas as Mossack and Fonseca, two lawyers who set up a complex web of shell companies to help the ultra-rich hide their wealth from tax authorities. AJ Meijer plays the role of a shady insurance salesman who unwittingly gets involved in the scheme.

The film is structured like a series of vignettes, each one revealing a new layer of the money laundering scheme. The opening scene features a group of elderly tourists enjoying a boat ride in Lake George, New York. When the boat capsizes, killing many of the passengers, we are introduced to Ellen Martin (Meryl Streep), a widow who is determined to get compensation from the insurance company that provided coverage to the boat.

Through Ellen's story, we are introduced to a world of financial corruption, where the rich and powerful use offshore accounts and fake shell companies to evade taxes and launder money. As Ellen digs deeper into the insurance company's operations, she learns that the company is just one small piece of a much larger puzzle.

We are then taken on a tour of the world of offshore finance, with stops in China, Panama, and the Caribbean. At each stop, we meet a new cast of characters, from a wealthy Chinese businessman laundering money through a fake restaurant to a shell company used to fund the Contras in Nicaragua.

Throughout the movie, the tone is one of dark humor, with the filmmakers poking fun at the absurdity of the whole system. Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas play their roles with a wink and a nod, as if the whole thing is just a game.

At its heart, The Laundromat is a scathing indictment of the world of offshore finance, where the rich and powerful can buy their way out of trouble while the rest of us are left to suffer. It is a movie that will make you angry, but also make you laugh at the sheer audacity of it all.

Overall, The Laundromat is a well-crafted movie that is both entertaining and informative. The excellent cast, sharp writing, and clever direction make for a movie that is sure to be remembered for years to come.

The Laundromat is a 2019 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 35 minutes. It has received moderate reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.3 and a MetaScore of 57.