Margin Call

It has been a few years now but Hollywood is finally getting around to making films about the Global Financial Crisis.

J.C. Chandor quite rightly got an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay for this film. As mentioned before, as a writer the script is the area that I find myself most drawn to when watching a film. Chandor's script is very clever and skillfully written. Being set in only a few locations it feels very much like a play. But in the way it is filmed it is still cinematic. Being play-like the film is very much dialogue driven and the dialogue is very smart with lots of witty lines. The characters are also well developed. It is an ensemble film but only a few of them have their characters fully developed. Some people may have trouble understanding what the characters are getting all upset about but if you watch the documentary 'Inside Job' before hand you should understand what all the fuss is about. Knowing exactly what is going on is not terribly important but can help. It makes you wonder if this is how it really happened. This is one of those situations that tests a persons moral compass. A leader must make a decision to do something wrong to get out of a bad situation.

J.C. has assembled an excellent ensemble cast for this film. While it is an ensemble film there are a few cast members that stand out more. Zachary Quinto is sort of the lead here and is excellent. One of those people who unexpectedly get drawn into a bad situation. Paul Bettany is great as the cocky experienced guy who helps provide information about what is happening. Kevin Spacey nicely plays the older experienced one who must make the decision of whether to do the right thing or not. Jeremy Irons brings his dignity to the role of the boss who has to make the tough decision. The rest of the cast give great performances but I was disappointed that Mary McDonnell only had a small two minute scene.

This is a film for those who like clever and intelligent cinema which makes you think. A little bit of knowledge of the GFC would help but is not important.