‘$POSITIONS’ Movie Review [Fantasia 2025]: A Midwestern Pressure Cooker That Goes Hard

Photo from Fantasia Film Festival

From Jeff Nelson

The Safdie brothers’ Uncut Gems set a new bar for anxiety-inducing cinema. Brandon Daley’s $POSITIONS is plenty stressful, stirring up an unpleasant, feel-bad movie experience. This might sound negative, but in this case, it’s a compliment.

The movie opens with Mike (Michael Kunicki) reluctantly bringing his disabled brother, Vinny (Vinny Kress), to work with him after getting behind on his payments to the care facility. Having irresponsibly sunk all of his money into crypto trading, Mike’s tanking investment finally shoots into the green. He quits his job, asks his girlfriend Charlene (Kaylyn Carter) to open their relationship, and declares himself wealthy, but the short-lived high crashes down to utter despair when he barrels back into the red.

The title $POSITIONS refers to “long” and “short” strategies used to profit from cryptocurrency price movements. Mike is a cryptobro who grifts within his own family. He unassumingly tanks their lives like an unexpected tsunami. His now-sober cousin, Travis (Trevor Dawkins), hesitantly agrees to help him, giving them both a new definition of “rock bottom.”

Characters don’t always have to be likable, but they do need to be compelling. Mike doesn’t seem like a bad guy at heart, but his actions are inexcusable. The nerve-shredding anxiety comes from how more palatable characters, such as Vinny, suffer from his destructive decisions. Stakes increase as Mike becomes more desperate. He borrows money from CJ (Eugene Ace Banks), the type of man you don’t want to owe anything to. 

The comedy doesn’t always land, but it’s hysterical when it does. Ex-coworkers and other acquaintances see how grating Mike and his unearned superiority complex are, so they aren’t afraid to knock him down a few pegs. Even the loyal Charlene strikes a stronger connection with another man, the charming Lorenzo (Jeffrey A. Hunter), during the open relationship she didn’t initially want. The vibrant cast of supporting characters delivers the movie’s most successful punchlines.

Daley’s off-putting pacing replicates the rise-and-fall narrative with which we’re far too familiar. Mike’s crypto earnings predictably bounce between the extremes, echoing through all aspects of his life. The rapid tonal shifts don’t all work in the pivot from mean-spirited to introspective sentimentality. This is a relentless ride through nearly the entire runtime, until it lets off the gas in an oddly forgiving finale.

As messy as $POSITIONS can be, it’s funny and extraordinarily stressful. Each time the movie nearly derails itself, Daley finds another deranged way to reel it back in. This dark comedy is a roller coaster of emotions strong enough to give whiplash. Brash and defiantly abrasive, this crypto-crash cautionary tale is sure to polarize.

Rating: 3/5

$POSITIONS played at Fantasia 2025 on July 30th.

Follow Jeff