The Founder is another biopic by directed John Lee Hancock, who also directed “The Blind Side” and “Saving Mr. Banks”. This time the focus is on Ray Kroc, the founder of the McDonald’s Corporation, and how McDonald’s was able to grow so fast. It’s a very compelling story with great acting by all involved.
The Founder is a compelling story portrayed greatly by Michael Keaton
Kroc (Michael Keaton) is a salesman who is always looking to be on the cutting edge of a new product. He appears to have had some success, given the house he and his wife (Laura Dern) share, but it’s definitely through persistence. His latest venture, a multi-mixer milkshake machine, leads him to the McDonald’s brothers and that’s where he finds his greatest discovery.
Dick McDonald (Nick Offerman) and Mac McDonald (John Carroll Lynch) have revolutionized the restaurant system when compared to the drive-in’s depicted earlier in the film. It’s a “symphony of efficiency” and Kroc is immediately impressed by everything he sees. He sets out to turn it into a franchise, and the rest, as they say, is history.
This movie isn’t just about the story of McDonald’s, but definitely focuses on the person that Ray Kroc was. Keaton’s performance is great with one of the best sequences being a montage of him recruiting franchisees. The speeches are intercut where sometimes he starts the sentence with a word in other instances he ends it. Essentially showing his gift of gab and his ability to make the sale.
The most compelling part to Kroc’s story is watching success and power slowly corrupt him. He’s not some over-the-top movie villain, but he definitely has a clear arc in this film. The man is broken and desperate to find success. At the age of 52, he’s still a traveling salesman and runs his own company. He isn’t satisfied with simply putting a roof over his head, and this drive is what leads him to finding McDonald’s. The childlike glee depicted when he sees what the McDonald’s brothers have created never goes away. However, his ruthlessness and disregard for those in his wake grows as the film moves on.
Final Thoughts
Keaton’s portrayal of this character change is subtle and genuine. He owns the screen and gets excellent support from the other actors in this film. It’s interesting to see how tightly Kroc initially sticks to the McDonald’s brothers high standards and knowing how different the restaurant chain becomes over the decades. It’s a film many should enjoy as it gives insight to an American institution that has had major impacts on the world we now live in. The Founder earns the Not Quite Golden, Ponyboy rating.
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