Our Fiscal Future in Their Hands

"Margin Call"

It's safe to say that most of us probably don't know much about the stock market.  That's because we're the little guys, the unsuspecting public.  In the climatic moments of Margin Call the heads of a big time investment bank decide that they're basically going to tamper with their books while still appearing to save face.  Did I mention the year is 2008?  This film takes place on the eve of the financial collapse suffered by the United States some four years ago.  Risk management executive Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci) has just been let go due to massive cut backs by his New York investment bank.  Before Eric is officially escorted out of the building he hands twenty - eight year old analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) a flash drive.  The drive contains some very important information that Mr. Dale had been working on before his nineteen years of service was no longer needed.

After filling in some of the gaps left by his former boss, Peter discovers that if these historically predicted trends continue as they have been for several days apparently, the firm will find itself deep in the red.  Like any big company there is a chain of command.  Peter tells his boss Will Emerson (Paul Bettany,) Will explains the situation to his boss Sam Rodgers (Kevin Spacey,) Sam expresses concern to his boss Jared Cohen (Simon Baker,) and lastly the buck stops at John Tuld (Jeremy Irons.)  What the firm is about to go through is serious, much more serious than anything any of them has ever seen before.

It's pretty scary to think that this country's economy is controlled by a handful of buildings that lye in the heart of New York City.  High above the sidewalks everyone's financial futures are in the hands of a select few individuals.  The decisions that the upper management makes during this film will probably destroy lots of people's lives.  What does it matter though, it's just money.  That is the attitude of some of the characters in the film.  

Margin Call has a solid screenplay.  The situation is real.  The consequences are also real.  Even though there are moments throughout the picture where the dialogue is above our heads the overall message of what is happening in the scenes is conveyed.  The characters seem believable and the performances from everyone involved come off as authentic.  All the conversations we get to listen in on about decisions that are far from moral or just will raise a few eyebrows.  To think that similar situations like this occurred nationwide proves to be unsettling.

For those who were uninterested in checking out 2010's fantastic documentary Inside Job please watch this flick as a good substitute.  The film doesn't come off as preachy or pretentious about the situation.  That's hard to do.  Margin Call does have an agenda but we leave knowing that what we just watched was something informative opposed to something cinematically exaggerated.  All the actors must have known they were attached to a piece of mature cinema that comes off as both relevant and engaging.  And that what this film boils down to, relevant and engaging.  Everything that is being talked about happened and we are still reeling from the side effects.  Margin Call received a limited release from Lionsgate last year, making it drop below many people's radars.  The original screenplay nomination it grabbed at this years Oscar's should turn some heads.  Good writing and excellent performances propel this film to one of 2011's best.