Review by Bob Ignizio
Coming
out the same week as TOWER HEIST,
a film that uses the financial crisis as fodder for an escapist
fantasy, MARGIN CALL
takes a more serious look at what caused the American economy (and
world economy, for that matter) to go down the toilet. According to
the film, that was a combination of greed and lax regulation that led
investment firms to put far too much of their money into dubious
assets like mortgage backed securities, all based on a wrong-headed
business model.
The
firm MARGIN CALL
focuses on manages to figure out how wrong they are before anyone
else, although just barely. Eric (Stanley Tucci), an employee of the
firm who has just been laid off, passes his information on to Peter
(Zachary Quinto), another member of the risk assessment department.
Peter completes the calculations and realizes that the firm could
soon find its assets worthless. Soon, all the higher ups in the firm
are flying in for a late night meeting to discuss how to handle the
crisis and protect their interests even if it comes at the expense of
other firms and “regular” people.
MARGIN CALL
assembles a great ensemble cast and gives them interesting characters
to play, a compelling situation to play them in, and some first rate
dialogue to recite. In addition to Tucci and Quinto, the other main
players include Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore, Simon Baker,
and Paul Bettany, fantastic actors all. I'm not sure that the movie
provides much insight into the financial crisis that hasn't already
been given elsewhere, but it's never dull watching this cast bring
the details to life. 3 out of 4 stars.
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