In Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, architect Howard Roark stands as a symbol of individualism by rejecting conformity in favor of self-reliance, vision, and unshakable determination. But what happens when those ideals are warped? When the drive for power and money eclipses the urge to help the greater good? When one’s self-importance replaces true independence? Then you get Mountainhead.
Written and directed by Succession’s Jesse Armstrong, HBO’s Mountainhead follows four megalomaniacal billionaires who meet up for a boy’s weekend of skiing, poker, and mutual reinforcement in an isolated mountain lodge, when all hell breaks loose in the free world, partially due to circumstances of their own making. Included in the collection of cash-holes are host Hugo “Soup” Van Yalk (Jason Schwartzman), the “Richest Man in the World” Venis (Cory Michael Smith), AI innovator Jeff (Ramy Youssef), and father figure Randall (Steve Carrell).
Venis is a Musk-esque figure with the White House’s ear and the social awareness of a bucket. He owns Traam, a social media platform with 4 billion users, whose latest update has sparked global political unrest due to his inability to regulate its use. The platform’s content tools churn out deepfakes and fabricated news, flooding the world with misinformation, igniting political chaos, and fueling violent outbreaks on a global scale.
Armstrong takes the already terrifying issue of disinformation and, like Thomas Paine, pushes it to a ludicrous and grim conclusion by handing global influence to sociopathic tycoons. As deepfakes and misinformation spiral, these detached plutocrats watch the chaos unfold through their screens, unable to tell what’s real. While the world burns outside their modernist mountaintop cage, each man schemes for what the others have, whether it’s control over AI, a key investment, or a shot at immortality. And since they have no moral issue with toppling economies or fueling mob violence, turning on one of their own over a business deal is no big leap.
At times, Mountainhead comes off as an absurdist riff on Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit for the Patrick Bateman sect. Overall, the execution as a four-hander plays well due to the tight, rhythmic cadence between the actors as the cast performs like a finely tuned, morally bankrupt machine. Each actor escalates the cartoonish villainy to glorious heights, but there are times when their toxic masculinity and bro-culture mentality become wearisome to watch.
As a group, everyone brings something unique to the Silicon Valley scumbag soirée. Youssef plays the morally conflicted Jeff, while Schwartzman wrestles with the indignity of being the only mere millionaire in the room. Carell shines as the group’s “Papa Bear,” a dying man looking for the answers to immortality. But Smith steals the show as the delightfully unhinged Venis, a pseudo-Elon who cannot comprehend the world he manipulates.
Mountainhead plays like a chilling what-if scenario that uncomfortably closely reflects the state of the modern world: a handful of oligarchs control the technology, which in turn shapes how the public consumes information, giving them unchecked power over society. Their devotion to wealth, influence, and the art of the flex far outweighs any concern for humanity and its future. With the real-world threat of AI looming and the one-percenters tightening their grip, Armstrong makes a compelling case for revolution, populating his story with loathsome figures who radiate both charm and menace. And while he occasionally pushes their portrayals into near buffoonery, the message remains loud and clear: this is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a fistbump.
“Mountainhead” is streaming on HBO Max.
