While folding laundry and sorting receipts, I watched Margin Call this afternoon. It lived up to the reviews and positive comments I'd heard/read about it.
The basic plot is a Wall Street firm, circa late summer 2008, during the 24 hours in which they realize they don't have the capital to cover their projected losses.
It is tightly constructed, with some fantastic dialogue, and a marvelous cast. This is one of those films everyone should watch in order to understand more about the period we are living through. I'm surprised it hasn't done better this awards season.
4 popcorn kernels
3 1/2 film reels
Absolutely agree. On balance, if your average American were given the choice between Margin Call and 2010's documentary, Inside Job, to get a better picture of what happened to our economy in 2007, they should definitely go for MC. I don't consider myself a dolt but I had a hard time following everything that happened in Inside Job.
Stanley Tucci's character had that awesome monologue story about being an engineer and designing a bridge that saved millions of man hours. I always thought that there was some deeper meaning to it and how it related to "engineering" in the financial world. But, I'm not smart enough to articulate it. thoughts?
Posted by: Phil | January 30, 2012 at 09:26 AM
That monologue is interesting, and then Paul Bellamy says, "Maybe some people just like taking the long way home."
Posted by: Scott Jones | January 30, 2012 at 10:17 AM