Margin Call

10/21/20111h 48m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ Be first. Be smarter. Or cheat. ~

Overview:

A thriller that revolves around the key people at an investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the financial crisis.

Director:

J.C. Chandor

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$3,500,000.00

Revenue:

$19,504,039.00

Key words:

capitalism
brokerage
wall street
based on true story
morality
economics
downsizing
financial crisis
stock market
stock market crash
investment
investment banker

Cast

Kevin Spacey

~ as ~

Sam Rogers

Zachary Quinto

~ as ~

Peter Sullivan

Paul Bettany

~ as ~

Will Emerson

Jeremy Irons

~ as ~

John Tuld

Simon Baker

~ as ~

Jared Cohen

Penn Badgley

~ as ~

Seth Bregman

Demi Moore

~ as ~

Sarah Robertson

Stanley Tucci

~ as ~

Eric Dale

Ashley Williams

~ as ~

Heather Burke

Mary McDonnell

~ as ~

Mary Rogers

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 2 year(s) ago
7
When "Eric" (Stanley Tucci) is let go from his risk analysis job on Wall Street, his successor "Sullivan" (Zachary Quinto) soon realises that the firm is sitting on a time bomb that could cost them all their jobs. He brings it to the attention of his boss "Will” (Paul Bettany) who in turn shares with "Sam" (Kevin Spacey) who quickly alerts “Cohen” (Simon Baker) and before we know it, the helicopter arrives bearing chairman "Tuld" (Jeremy Irons) who hastily convenes a 3am meeting to discuss their options. What now ensues is a tautly directed observation of venality and self preservation that is really compelling to watch. Irons is way better than usual - indeed his plan to basically on-pass their debts to their unsuspecting clients as if they were getting a great bargain seemed almost reasonable. Spacey comes across well as his conflicted sidekick who at least has some semblance of scruples, and there's also quite an engaging effort from Penn Badgley ("Seth") a young man whose dreams of wealth and success are about to get throttled before they really begin. Sadly, Quinto is not a very versatile actor, he has a look (akin to bewilderment) that he offers to the camera - but that's about all, which is a shame as his character is actually quite crucial as this story progresses. This film doesn't really have a beginning or an end, but offers us an excellent glimpse at just how some people can put a smiley face on deceit and still, somehow, come out intact. This is a much more subtle and menacing look at just how the 2008 financial crisis started, at how some people - even at the last moment - believed it could be manipulated to their advantage, and is really well worth a watch.