Heretic: Hugh Grant’s scary role unveils chilling money lessons for investors

You have almost never ever heard of world religions being compared to a game of Monopoly, but you find yourself nodding in agreement because the explanation is so smoothly done you cannot but marvel at the intelligent writing.

Mr. Reed invites two sister missionaries into his home (after assuring them that he does have a wife who’s baking blueberry pie) to hear more about their religious beliefs in Mormonism – The Church of the Latter Day Saints. The two young women are out to convert people into joining their Church, and they take shelter from a sudden snowstorm because he assures the girls that he does indeed have a wife who is inside. The girls discover to their horror that this is no ordinary house, and he is no ordinary man willing to have a discourse about religious beliefs. The two girls – Sister Paxton and Sister Barnes – find themselves questioning everything from their choice to enter that home and even their belief in the Church and a punishing God.

It’s a gory tale of choice and death, and how with only one scary jump cut, the film cleverly makes us think about our own system of beliefs. There are three great lessons about money to be learnt from the film.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions

Hugh Grant who plays the sinister Mr. Reed (sounds like the word ‘mystery’, doesn’t it?) shows the two girls their religious text – The Book of Mormon – that has been marked with many notes and says, ‘I’ve been studying your religious texts and I have questions…’

One of the girls, Sister Paxton, remarks that they have grown up in Church and have taught long enough to preach and convert people, but, ‘Mister Reed! Looks like you have read the text more than us!’

Innocuous beginning, you will think but then you will realise that the man knows enough about the religion to ask them questions. When bankers call you to make offers about your money, attempting to sell you new ways to invest your money and that their way is the only way your money will grow (have you not seen those comparative charts?), don’t you think that you should be asking questions about their offering?

Don’t accept anything blindly. Generally speaking smart investors ask these five questions:

1. Am I comfortable with the level of risk?
2. Can I afford to lose my money?
3. Can I get my money out easily?
4. Will this investment be regulated?
5. Am I protected if the investment provider goes out of business?

Are you feeling trapped?

When the two young girls realise that the door is locked and that they are standing in a room that resembles a church, they know they are trapped. The mysterious Mr. Reed is almost casual in his self-deprecating, ‘You cannot leave from the front door, but choose one of the two doors that leads you to the back of the house.’

The doors have been marked ‘Belief’ and ‘Disbelief’ and the promise is that the girls should be able to get out of the house in which they are trapped. The girls are skeptical because his earlier promise was a sham. He said that his wife was in the kitchen baking blueberry pie and the girls saw that the scented candle he brought in was ‘blueberry pie’ scented. He has tried to make them drink a cola drink knowing it is forbidden for them to accept caffeinated beverages.

So many of us get trapped into investing in certain financial schemes because we are like the girls who are lured by the promise of a heavenly blueberry pie. Many of us today are thinking about investing in crypto because Elon Musk is making billions, and tech bros are making millions and yes, everyone in the market is bullish about a currency that very few of us understand.

Some schemes trap you into investing for years and you are unable to get out simply because you did not read the fine print. Mr. Reed has asked them casually, ‘Is it okay that the house has metal in the walls and on the roof?’ They have agreed, not realising that they will not be able to call anyone outside for help… So read the fine print, and never take any assurance on face value before investing your hard earned money.

Beware of monopolies

Mr. Reed uses examples of the game of Monopoly, of songs copied by artists to religions very cleverly, saying that you lose your ability to question the authenticity of any religion because you have been indoctrinated into believing since childhood

Most of us are made to believe that owning a home is the ultimate goal in life. People live under that pressure and spend their entire working lives paying off that home loan. But today, lifestyles are different and many people are choosing to invest their money in travel, education or other things while living frugally. These people are often labelled ‘disruptors’ and very few can manage to stave off pressures like: when an airplane is about to crash, every atheist begins to pray!

Should you choose to invest in a little known company or a financial instrument not everyone knows, then you will feel the pressure from people who will tell you to follow what everyone is doing. You are taking too much of a risk they will say…

If you are not risk averse, you will be able to cock a snook at monopolies disguising themselves as ‘we are not that’ by investing differently, smartly.

Some of the things that the Heretic says will make you think that you have indeed been indoctrinated into thinking in a particular way so that the society approves. Sometimes you invest in a stock simply because everyone ‘expected you to do that’.

What you need to understand is what Sister Paxton discovers: Whether it is the church or a logical skeptic like Mr. Reed, they are simply trying to control your ways.

This is a thought provoking horror film, and how easily the romantic hero manages to scare the heck out of the two women and make you wonder how much thought control that Pink Floyd sang about has shaped your life! Releasing appropriately on Friday the thirteenth, this movie says, ‘Come, watch me!’

Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveller, founder of Caferati — an online writer’s forum, hosts Mumbai’s oldest open mic, and teaches advertising, films and communication. She can be reached on Twitter at @manishalakhe.