The Founder

In the opening scene of The Founder, Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc is directly addressing the camera, giving a lengthy and earnest sales pitch.

When the camera pulls away, we see he is trying to sell a milkshake machine to a potential customer. The customer’s emphatic “no” is followed by scenes of more rejections, Kroc’s frustrated banging on his car, forced displays of optimism, and gallant perseverance.

This sets the theme for the bio-drama which tells the true story of how Ray Kroc effectively swindled Dick and Mac McDonald out of their small but very successful hamburger chain to create the McDonald’s Corporation.

Written by Robert D Seigel and directed by John Lee Hancock, The Founder is a celebration of the driven anti-hero, in the same spirit as Wall Street, The Social Network and Steve Jobs. Kroc is ruthless and underhanded, cheating the McDonald brothers out of their business, a potential fortune and even their own name. While he is shown in all his deceitful glory, you get a sense the film is trying to vindicate him by aligning these negative qualities with ambition, insight and action.

“Nothing can take the place of persistence.” The Calvin Coolidge quote becomes Kroc’s leitmotif.

The McDonald brothers, on the other hand, are depicted as insipid, short-sighted and obstructive.

Laura Dern as Kroc’s wife, Ethel, slouches and scowls, ever pessimistic and indifferent to Kroc’s ideas. So when Kroc leaves her for the younger, more entrepreneurial wife of an associate, well, we don’t blame him.

While some early sequences look like a corporate “company pride” video, there is a sense the film tries to avoid obvious marketing. However, lines like “McDonald’s can be the new American church…”, and Kroc’s impassioned plea to the brothers to “Do it for America!” border on proselytising.

Set in the 1950’s, the film has a buoyant, nostalgic feel. The soundtrack supercharges the mood and action on screen. The performances all round are convincing and entertaining. It’s probably half an hour longer than it needs to be, but definitely well worth a view. (RB)

★★★