Review of Inside Job (2010) by Jim H — 20 Jul 2011

This documentary chronicles the global financial crisis of 2008.

Like many documentaries these days, Inside Job is a thesis-driven doc. The thesis? That deregulation of the financial sector is the principal cause for the financial meltdown from which we are still recovering. It's a strong thesis with many proponents, and in order to argue against it, you'd come dangerously close to sounding like Rick Santelli.

The film's explanation of credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) is remarkably clear and easy for anyone to understand. They don't go into derivatives, but these would take much of a film to explain in any comprehensible manner. Understanding these financial instruments is key to having an educated discussion about economic policy, so for that reason alone, I strongly recommend the film.

For those of you who don't like the [insert political party of your choice], you'll be happy to know that for every bad policy that the film criticizes Reagan or Bush for, it is sure to mention that Clinton and Obama didn't radically change things.

I did find the editing rather opportunistic. Charles Ferguson, who I assume is the primary interviewer, is often able to ask lobbyists and academics pointed questions and cut away before they are able to give a cogent response or else we get to watch them stumbling for words before the film cuts away. It may be that these people are simply unable to answer for their actions, but it also feels as though the film doesn't want them to be able to.

Overall, I found Inside Job interesting, insightful, educational, and well-argued/-constructed, especially when Ferguson went after the academic establishment for intellectually underwriting deregulation.