 "A still from The Big Short")
You’ve got to hand it to Adam McKay. His latest, The Big Short, is a tough cookie, and he’s pulled it off. Well, almost. Based on financial journalist Michael Lewis’s book by the same name — Lewis also gave us Liar’s Poker (1989), Moneyball (2003) and The Blind Side (2009) — there’s enough matter in the book for a whole frightening television series, but McKay has wrapped it up in 130 minutes. Moreover, he manages to not scare you away despite all the complex financial jargon. Here’s a regularly used sample of the jargon for instance: synthetic collateralised debt obligation, or CDOs.
This fast-paced biographical drama is unapologetic in the way it tells audiences how American banks and regulatory figures badgered the economy. It’s a sombre comedy of sorts, if this was make-believe, maybe we wouldn’t feel bad about enjoying the Academy Award-nominated film.
This film doesn’t have a hero. There is no lead actor either, although Christian Bale as the eccentric hedge fund manager, Mark Burry, comes pretty close. Burry, who walks around the office barefoot and in shorts often holding drumsticks, is one of the first few who took a close look at the numbers and foresaw the American credit and housing bubble collapse of 2008.
Then there is Steve Carell as Mark Baum, the investor who is haunted by a personal loss, and appalled by a “shady system fuelled by stupidity”. To put it lightly, social etiquette isn’t Burry’s or Baum’s strong suit.
Ryan Gosling doubles as the cocky narrator and bank higher-up Jared Vennett, while Brad Pitt is the underplayed, low-key former trader Ben Rickert who has given up the game. The disenchanted Rickert comes in for one last ride when trust fund kids Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) and Charlie Gellar (John Magaro) ask him for help.
Much like Burry, Vennett’s and Baum’s smart team, when these two young guns join the highly exclusive club of those who know what’s coming, they are as excited about it as they fear it.
McKay’s characters often break the fourth wall and interact directly with the camera, mainly to keep the story going. And to try and keep viewers cued into Wall Street-terminology, McKay even indulges in cameo appearances. Who would have thought that Margot Robbie, of The Wolf of Wall Street fame, would suddenly pop up in a bubble bath to explain what sub-prime mortgages are.
Similarly, popular chef Anthony Bourdain appears to simplify CDOs as he compares them to three-day-old flatfish. Adding to the list of cameos is Selena Gomez who, while in Las Vegas, uses a game of blackjack to break down synthetic CDOs.
McKay’s film is essentially about the many lives swirling in a whirlpool of false security, and how that whirlpool threatened to swallow the world’s economy. And while the debate over whether the film accurately scrutinises the details or if it is unfairly harsh towards Wall Street isn’t conclusive, one must remember that sometimes, a movie is just a movie. Even if the movie is about financial giants falling and setting off a chain of events.
While the film recounts the financial meltdown of 2008 and gives you plenty of chance to soak up Wall Street lingo, the best way to enjoy the film is to savour the mixed bag of characters who make hay while the sun shines. For added benefits, if you have someone in the next seat who appears to know how the market works, buy her some popcorn.
This fast-paced biographical drama is unapologetic in the way it tells audiences how American banks and regulatory figures badgered the economy. It’s a sombre comedy of sorts, if this was make-believe, maybe we wouldn’t feel bad about enjoying the Academy Award-nominated film.
This film doesn’t have a hero. There is no lead actor either, although Christian Bale as the eccentric hedge fund manager, Mark Burry, comes pretty close. Burry, who walks around the office barefoot and in shorts often holding drumsticks, is one of the first few who took a close look at the numbers and foresaw the American credit and housing bubble collapse of 2008.
Then there is Steve Carell as Mark Baum, the investor who is haunted by a personal loss, and appalled by a “shady system fuelled by stupidity”. To put it lightly, social etiquette isn’t Burry’s or Baum’s strong suit.
Ryan Gosling doubles as the cocky narrator and bank higher-up Jared Vennett, while Brad Pitt is the underplayed, low-key former trader Ben Rickert who has given up the game. The disenchanted Rickert comes in for one last ride when trust fund kids Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) and Charlie Gellar (John Magaro) ask him for help.
Much like Burry, Vennett’s and Baum’s smart team, when these two young guns join the highly exclusive club of those who know what’s coming, they are as excited about it as they fear it.
McKay’s characters often break the fourth wall and interact directly with the camera, mainly to keep the story going. And to try and keep viewers cued into Wall Street-terminology, McKay even indulges in cameo appearances. Who would have thought that Margot Robbie, of The Wolf of Wall Street fame, would suddenly pop up in a bubble bath to explain what sub-prime mortgages are.
Similarly, popular chef Anthony Bourdain appears to simplify CDOs as he compares them to three-day-old flatfish. Adding to the list of cameos is Selena Gomez who, while in Las Vegas, uses a game of blackjack to break down synthetic CDOs.
McKay’s film is essentially about the many lives swirling in a whirlpool of false security, and how that whirlpool threatened to swallow the world’s economy. And while the debate over whether the film accurately scrutinises the details or if it is unfairly harsh towards Wall Street isn’t conclusive, one must remember that sometimes, a movie is just a movie. Even if the movie is about financial giants falling and setting off a chain of events.
While the film recounts the financial meltdown of 2008 and gives you plenty of chance to soak up Wall Street lingo, the best way to enjoy the film is to savour the mixed bag of characters who make hay while the sun shines. For added benefits, if you have someone in the next seat who appears to know how the market works, buy her some popcorn.
