The Big Short
Director: Adam McKay
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Rudy Eisenzopf, Casey Groves, Christian Bale, Peter Epstein, Steve Carell, Tracy Letts, Vanessa Cloke, Brad Pitt, Wayne Pere, Finn Whittrock, John Magaro, Marisa Tomel, Karen Gillan, Melissa Leo. Margot Robbie, Anthony Bourdain, Selena Gomez
Rating: B+
Get ready for a fun, dizzy, mind blowing trip into the financial maze that made up the mortgage banking industry around 2008. The Big Short, a movie that is taken right from the pages of recent economic history, is filled with a bunch of mumbo jumbo confusing dialogue with just enough explanation of the housing crash a few years ago to make those of us that had no clue of what was going on get a better understanding of what a few wealthy hedge fund managers saw coming, and how they bet against the system in one of the greatest get rich quick schemes ever invented. The Big Short is an entertaining and comical look into the bust of the housing market. By the time the film is over many will feel disgusted despite the humorous and sometimes enjoyable look into the economic debacle once they fully understand exactly what happened and the level of corruption existing in lending institutions.
The film follows several different players involved in the moneymaking endeavor. The first heavy hitter to figure out that the banking system is about to collapse is Michael Burry (Christian Bale). A brilliant doctor with a knack for crunching numbers, Burry actually goes through thousands of bonds discovering that the subprime loans are about tank. He also manages a hedge fund while stomping around his office in flip flops and listening to hard rock music, and decides to take his investor’s money and bet against the market. Getting wind of Burry’s insane investment strategy is Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), a suave smooth-talking banker who follows the scent of money. Vennett approaches Mark Baum (Steve Carell), another hedge fund manager, about getting in on the action. James Shipley (Finn Wittrock) and Charlie Geller (John Magaro), two baby investors that want to get in with the big league, accidentally find out about the too-good-to-be-true potential win and approach their mentor Ben Ricket (Brad Pitt) about helping all of them get a piece of the pie.
The Big Short is a complex film that swerves and curves at lightning speed keeping audiences fully engaged as it unravels the complexities of investment products and how unscrupulous those at the top of the food chain were all for a quick buck without any regard for how many people would suffer once the real estate market fell apart. We are taken on trip through luxurious board rooms, swanky night clubs, and ultimately to the abandoned residential neighborhoods of Florida, a state hit hard by the crisis. The filmmakers do a great job setting the mood for this tale about economic disaster with all the imagery in the film.
One of the best touches in The Big Short is some awesome and amusing cameos from Margot Robbie, Anthony Bourdain, and Selena Gomez. Who would have thought that casting a youngster like Selena Gomez into the mix giving us a simple explanation on the finer points of investment strategy would be like taking an entry level finance course? The cameos, which were brilliant, provide comic relief and a welcomed break from all the financial terminology.
The entire cast holds its own bringing real life personalities to the screen. It is Steve Carell’s performance that is a stand out, bringing forward the passion of a man outraged by a crooked system that will ultimately take advantage of the unsuspecting borrowers whose only wish was to own their own home. Carell comes across very genuine and sincere as someone who actually cares about the consequences of the housing bubble that is about to burst and is taking no pleasure at the fact that he may just win big.
The production is filled with a ton of intricate speeches in its effort to give moviegoers a clear picture of the long term effects of lending systems failure. If one line is missed it is possible for someone watching the film to get totally lost. Conversations are a bit drawn out and the movie feels like it ran a bit too long. There are also unnecessary and boring flashbacks that really have nothing to do with the storyline that take the film completely of course. Despite a few little glitches, The Big Short is a refreshing, smart, and clever new take on what caused the economy to collapse and gives us insight into fraud and just how ridiculous and careless large banks got with lending guidelines. This is a film that will make you laugh and feel sick to your stomach all at the same time.
