I love a movie with a strong cast. Great actors can make up for so much when it comes to screenplays. Margin Call, thankfully, has both a strong screenplay and an exceptional cast. The subject matter might be too complex or outright boring for some, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, I can't see this not being in my top 5 for the year.
Margin Call is a fictitious look at the beginnings of the financial meltdown in 2008. All of the details are there, but the company and the names are fiction. In some ways it is rather too simple, but those in the audience who are not trained financiers won't know that. We see a company that has over-leveraged itself on toxic assets that have made them a lot of money. As the crunch comes they have to start the sell-off. Lives will be ruined. The market will be devastated. Those who have to make these awful choices are the focus of the film.
The entire movie takes place over the course of less than 24 hours. From the firing of large numbers of staff to the upper boardroom struggles over how to save the company (and for some, the ethics of doing so) Margin Call puts a human face on an issue that most only see as faceless. We see how easily these choices come for some, and how difficult and gut-wrenching they are for others. As the story progresses we see the pressure mount, and the internal power plays that no doubt occur in a situation like that.
A superior cast led by Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany and Zacchary Quinto put in compelling performances. Supported by the great Jeremy Irons as well as Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker and Demi Moore, Margin Call has one of the best casts in film this year. Every performance is excellent and it all helps to make the complex subject matter engaging.
If you really like great acting and smart subject matter, you owe it to yourself to see this film.
8.5/10
But that's just the way I see it.
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