Director/Writer: J.C.
Chandor
Starring: Kevin Spacey,
Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Simon Baker, Demi
Moore, Stanley Tucci, Aasif Mandvi, Mary McDonnell
Watching a movie like “Margin
Call”, you might fall under the illusion that you now have the slightest
understanding of Wall Street, but I’m more inclined to think that not even Wall
Street knows what the hell they’re doing. And, somehow they still get away with
it. Why? Cause we think it’s all above us. It’s all above them too, but their
advantage is that they know what we think.
I’m not sure any of that
gives you any solid impression of just what a great thriller “Margin Call”
makes out of a bunch of people who know they’re going to lose their jobs losing
their jobs, but it’s good. There’s a scene near the beginning of the movie
where a big New York financial firm has called in the head honcho to determine
what to do about a phenomenal mistake that really was perpetrated by real Wall
Street financial institutions, although it’s fictionalized here. In that scene,
Jeremy Irons plays the big CEO. When it comes to the point where someone finally
comes out and says, “the shit has hit the fan” more or less, he makes a quick
hand gesture. It’s quick and not directed at anyone or thing in particular.
This is the only frustration we will see from this character. This is
brilliance in performance.
In fact, the entire cast is
rather brilliant. They’re given a situation that very few people really
understand and make it gripping. The actors are given a bunch of financial
mumbo jumbo, and they give us the impression that not only do they understand
it, but also we do when we don’t. I think this is how Wall Street sells us on
what they do as well. Admittedly, I think these characters ask each other to
explain it in plain English a little more than actual traders do, but that
doesn’t mean the traders understand it without it being stated in plain
English.
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