SXSW 2025 Review: $POSITIONS, Money Changes Everything

Crypto is only the hook. Once it's got its hook in you, though, it's tough to let it go.

$POSITIONS
The film enjoys its world premiere at SXSW 2025. It screens again tomorrow, March 14, at Alamo Lamer.

Full disclosure: I do not understand crypto. Or cryptocurrency. Or whatever you want to call it.

Even so, I quite enjoyed $POSITIONS, written and directed by Brandon Daley, which is, ostensibly, about crypto. The thing is, it's about crypto in the same way that, say, Oliver Stone's Wall Street is about money.

Certainly, money is the driving force behind both movies. Both Mike Alvarado (Michael Kunicki) in $POSITIONS and Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) in Wall Street come from modest, blue-collar backgrounds. Both want to better their lives, and the lives of those around them. Both know that they need money to do so.

The difference is not just that Mike Alvarado lives in the Midwest and Bud Fox lives in New York or that Mike Alvarado assembles things with his hands, while Bud Fox is a stockbroker. The difference is that Mike Alvarado invests with his family's savings, relying on his own instincts, while Bud Fox invests with other people's money, relying on inside information.

Both Mike Alvarado and Bud Fox are changed by money. In Mike Alvarado's case, his perpetually sunny outlook on life immediately changes, once a crypto investment bears fruit in a spectacular manner. Within six hours, he's burned multiple bridges and is manifesting all kinds of unpleasant tendencies, becoming downright rude and arrogant.

Furthermore, his imagination that he's now rich and set for life makes him stupid. To be fair, Mike was probably never the sharpest tool in the shed, but his winning disposition helped him to survive the loss of his mother, as well as the dual challenges of his father's alcohol addiction and the developmental disability of his brother Vinny (Vinny Kress). Before money came his way, Mike's life frequently descended into sheer chaos. After money, Mike's life promised to be better.

Like any currency, I believe, cryptocurrency is subject to volatile change and wild ups and downs in value. This is vividly realized in Brandon Daley's film, which captures Mike's shock and awe when his crypto suddenly rises in value, and his utter desperation when it falls, far too fast for him to comprehend.

It's no wonder that Mike is not able to manage his investments wisely. Really, nothing in his life suggests that he is at all capable of doing so, including his patchy relationship with his girlfriend Charlene (Kaylyn Carter) and his renewed friendship with his hulking cousin Travis (Trevor Dawkins), recently returned home and still struggling with his drug addiction.

In essence, Mike is surrounded by addiction, including his own to crypto, and he's waging a losing battle against it. His crypto addiction becomes overpowering, dominating his thoughts and actions. Beyond his family, he doesn't appear to have any (true) friends, which also serves to increase his sense of isolation, despite his cheery nature.

Brandon Daley's script treats all the characters with empathy, kindness, and complexity, making his wildly funny debut feature a compelling tale of friendship, obsession, and a p--- bomb. (No spoilers; I'm not opening my mouth on that one.)