Review of Margin Call (2011) by Chris M — 09 Nov 2013

This is a terrific film. Brilliant performances from a stellar cast, exploring the financial crisis through every layer of a Lehman Brothers-style Bank. From the analysts upwards, the management have less and less idea of how the bank actually worked, only how much money they made.

"If you're first out the door, that's not called panicking". Jeremy Irons is fantastic as the Head of the Bank, not so much evil as utterly disinterested and amoral. More like the antihero from L'Etranger, he almost seems oblivious to the consequences of what they do, just that if they didn't do it, someone else certainly would.

Crackling dialogue and an all-too-rare underplayed performance by Kevin Spacey make this well worth a watch.