Once upon a time I was sitting across a desk from an old high school friend who had recently begun a career in the finance sector. Inspired by the large map of the world behind me, she playfully pulled out her calculator and mathematically proved–to her satisfaction, at least–that Russia was 2,500 miles across at most and could easily be hiked west to east in a month or two. Looking back, I can see that moment as one that greatly helped to define my impression of the finance sector. Certainly there are plenty of pragmatic mathematicians at work in the field, but I’ve long held the impression that it’s a business that relies on psychology much more than science.
J.C. Chandor’s remarkable directorial debut, Margin Call, doesn’t try to explain the science of why economic calamities befall us (after all, it’s a science subject to much clever reinvention), but it does a splendid job of showing us the psychology. Most of the film takes place in the first 24 hours of the 2008 Financial Crisis, at a fictional firm reminiscent of Bear Stearns. It begins with the unceremonious firing of the majority of the risk management department, and specifically its head, played by Stanley Tucci. Before leaving, Tucci hands a flash drive to his protege, Zachary Quinto (Spock 2.0) and urges him to “be careful” with its contents. Quinto quickly connects the dots on the drive and realizes the firm is on the verge of disaster. The hours stretch into the next day as his bosses (Demi Moore, Simon Baker, Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, and Jeremy Irons) descend–at times quite literally–on the office to debate the next move.
What makes Margin Call so compelling–apart from its excellent performances–is its refusal to be a simple polemic about the corruption and evils of wealth. Its villains and heroes alike are human beings, some of whom may lack wisdom but few of whom lack intelligence. Even when the greediest and narrowest points of view are expressed, Chandor puts real verbal weight behind their arguments. It’s all a game of persuasion, loyalty and survival, in which the guys who actually know the numbers are continually asked to dumb them down for the decision-makers (and for most of us, naturally). The screenplay (by Chandor himself) is replete with insights immediate, historical and mathematical, but never incomprehensible. It may be one of the best films about Wall Street ever made. – [DVD] [Blu-Ray]
Drama/Thriller
Rated R
DVD Release Date: 12/20/11