Margin Call (2011)

United States of America

Thriller, Drama

Before the Door Pictures, Benaroya Pictures, Washington Square Films, Myriad Pictures, Untitled Entertainment

Kevin Spacey, Zachary Quinto, Simon Baker, Paul Bettany, Ashley Williams, Demi Moore

J.C. Chandor

J.C. Chandor

Taglines: Be first. Be smarter. Or cheat.

capitalism, brokerage, wall street, economics, downsizing, financial crisis, stock market, stock market crash, investment, investment banker

A thriller that revolves around the key people at an investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the financial crisis.

Reviews:

Author: Geronimo1967
When "Eric" (Stanley Tucci) is let go from his risk analysis job on Wall Street, his successor "Sullivan" (Zachary Quinto) soon realises that the firm is siting on a time bomb that could costs them all their jobs. He brings it to the attention of his boss "Cohen" (Simon Baker) who shares with "Sam" (Kevin Spacey) and chairman "Tuld" (Jeremy Irons) who hastily convenes a 3am meeting to discuss their options. What now ensues is a tautly directed observation of venality and self preservation that is really compelling to watch. Irons is way better than usual - indeed his plan to basically on-pass their debts to their unsuspecting clients as if they were getting a great bargain seemed almost reasonable. Spacey comes across well as his conflicted sidekick who at least has some semblance of scruples, and there's also quite an engaging effort from Penn Badgley ("Seth") a young man whose dreams of wealth and success are about to get throttled before they really begin. Sadly, Quinto is not a very versatile actor, he has a look (akin to bewilderment) that he offers to the camera - but that's about all, which is a shame as his character is actually quite crucial as this story progresses. This film doesn't really have a beginning or an end, but offers us an excellent glimpse at just how some people can put a smiley face on deceit and still, somehow, come out intact. This is a much more subtle and menacing look at just how the 2008 financial crisis started, at how some people - even at the last moment - believed it could be manipulated to their advantage, and is really well worth a watch.