It's not about ruining people's lives; convincing innocent customers of this one brokerage house to buy worthless securities that will leave them destitute. It's not about intentionally developing these scams to rob people who have dealt with this firm and trusted them with their money. It's not about the evil and greed of the people who control stock market. It's about a miscalculation, a formula developed to put together bundles of securities that was inaccurate, and as a result, the brokerage company is about to go under -- unless it unloads the securities on its customers.
The cold, calculated decision to do this, taken by the CEO (Jeremy Irons), seems short sighted in the extreme since once the financial world catches on to what the company has done, taking just a matter of hours, its good named would be ruined, no one would ever trust or invest through it again, most of the brokers would be fired and probably face criminal charges. Most importantly, it would set off a firestorm that would rock the whole financial world. This demonstrates 2008 and the financial crisis we are all still trying to recover from. But as the CEO explains to the head of Risk Management (Kevin Spacey), money is only paper, a symbol, not an actual commodity, and this company must maintain its financial standing at the expense of its clients so it can go on and on. This crisis will eventually blow over and the company will survive. Dubious logic, but an expression of the mentality behind Wall Street.
We are taken through 5 levels of authority in the firm, from the lowest, the guy who discovers the terrifying results of the miscalculation, to boss upon boss, to see how each boss reacts to the news. Seems each higher executive understands less about economics, the stock market and the mathematical problem that will cause the downfall of the world's financial system. Each tells the one immediately below him, 'Explain it to me as if I were a child,' so each explanation gets simpler. Okay, I still don't understand, but it isn't necessary to the plot. The point is this firm inadvertently created a staggering problem that it will deal with in the most irresponsible and shortsightedly selfish manner.
The brokers are not trained swindlers, just young men (mostly) who are driven by earning money for themselves; not one of them refused to ruin the lives of their clients or break the law because they were offered bonuses. That's why I invest in prosper.com instead of Wall Street.
The look of the film reflects the single-mindedness of the characters, gray rooms with windows looking out at night in the city -- colorless black sky lit by windows of surrounding buildings. Even the reflection of the multitude of computer monitors reiterate the outdoor scene of little white dots in the black background -- the only color coming from the monitors' cold blues and greens on black backgrounds. When an employee feels the need for fresh air, he goes to the underground garage. This is a lifeless place of men in dark suits, drained of emotions, trained to devote their lives to the pursuit of money they don't even know how to spend and enjoy. Interestingly, one man explains how he spent last year's salary and it didn't include investing a dime or giving to charity.
Don't expect the high tension or the fast-paced action of a thriller. This film is more an exposé, slowly and methodically uncovering the characters of the people we trust. No one is spared. And each actor convinces us of his (and one her - Demi Moore) character's complicity. What keeps us interested in this monochromatic, humorless, almost plodding dissection of America's financial system, is the decisions made by the characters and the artistry of the actors living in their skins. Kevin Spacey is for once a moral, sympathetic character, even breaking into tears about his sick dog, instead of the ruthless dynamo he so often portrays, Another reason the audience is mesmerized by the film is the decisions made by these people also directly impacted everyone in the audience, in the U.S. and beyond. Moral is -- not one of them deserves our trust or our money.
Margin Call
Director/Writer: J.C. Chandor
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci, Paul Bettany, Demi Moore, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto and his strange eyebrows, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker
Time: 105 min.
Rating: R
Opening October 21 at the Metreon and Kabuki Cinema in San Francisco
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