Margin Call

Margin Call is one of those movies that stand out not for what they say, but for how they say it. I care very little for a story about the financial crisis, and for the moral theme involved; but this movie does a very good job in storytelling, so that the story becomes interesting. The idea of focusing on the very first hours of the crisis is very smart. The direction is good, the dialogues are flawless, there's a lot of interesting characters, and the acting from an outstanding cast is fantastic.

I was a stockbroker in '08/09 and will never forget the panicked feeling on the trading desk on a daily basis. Unfortunately, nothing has changed. Greed still drives the market, inexorably towards the next GFC. Lessons were given out but none learnt.

And Demi Moore....wow.

I'll have to start by saying this film will not be for everyone. This film lacks the needed tension for a Friday film night for example, but this film is heavily relatable and the acting and characters are superb and carry this film.

So why did i find this interesting? The characters. What this film is illustrating is the "behind the scenes" of a giant corporation and how they deal with a giant crisis. The characters that stood out for me were Penn Badgeley, Paul Bettany and Kevin Spacey. To start they were acted superbly well, but I really did relate to them, Penn in particular, and it had me absolutely hooked in.

It's a weird review to write, because I'd normally talk about the plot seen as though that's the main thing you notice about a film when you watch it and it makes or breaks any movie. This is just a little different, because as mentioned prior this film lacks a certain tension needed. The film itself is really smartly written, but it needed a little more to it, to entice you in more.

I personally enjoyed it, but I will guarantee people will hate it due to the lack of things going on. But if you really focus on the characters and their characteristics, it's a really enjoyable and relatable watch. 7/10 from me.

There are a few inaccuracies and things that 'just wouldn't happen', but I've got to say, this was scarily accurate (I was a banker in 2008)

The movie "Margin Call" depicts the events that immediately preceded the Financial Crisis in 2008 within a nameless Investment Bank. What I like especially about the movie is the fact that it doesn't try to explain the technical causes of the Financial Crisis but the psychological causes - human failures, which are the real cause for the Crisis: greed, egotism, ignorance. Many scenes in this movie deal with very little dialogue, instead the body language and the unique atmosphere speaks for itself. The ensemble is just brilliant, especially Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons.

The movie works solely from inside the nameless firm – apart from minor steps outside. It only portraits the people working inside this company - the "normal world" is completely left out. The effect is a very clever one: The life of these bankers seems totally severed from the outside world, they have no real connection with normal people and seem to – speaking exaggeratingly – lack an understanding of real human values, that there could be more behind life than just maximizing and making money. They are completely left behind in their own world, which somehow got out of control. Even when the imminent truth reveals and the consequences are becoming more clearer, it always feels like they are cut off; there is a scene in a taxi with Quinto and Badgley that underlines this.

But one can also witness the cold-blooded atmosphere in the system itself, where every person could easily be mistaken as a number. A key figure of the film, Eric Dale, who gets sacked in the beginning, is confronted with two managers in a scene like from "Up In The Air". Either are these women robots or have never experienced something like social warmth. One widely held position is that eventually bankers themselves didn't understand their own system and products with Derivatives and Futures, etc. anymore. Almost hilarious, but sadly true is the fact that many people in these companies seem to have no understanding of Economics and just got into their position due to influence or money. When they are sitting in their conference room and discuss the incident, it feels somewhat grotesque.

Although this movie works almost completely without music, the tension is so immense - thanks to the brilliant actors - that one is forced to focus.