Margin Call Review

Director: J.C. Chandor

Starring: Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, Paul Bettany, Demi Moore, Kevin Spacey, Simon Baker, Jeremy Irons, Penn Badgley, Mary McDonnell

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 107 Minutes

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

To say the current economic climate is having a serious effect on all our lives would be an understatement. Most people are cutting back on every aspect of spending, whether it be luxuries or significant everyday necessities. And that’s only those that are able to do so; what about those that are unable to, having lost everything? And why? Well, we all know the answer to that: greedy bankers and businesses, governments unwilling to learn from history, and the boom generation the eventually went… erm, bust. So to give you an idea of how the world of investment banking brought the entire planet to its knees in 2008 and continues to have serious repercussions, you may want to check out the film MARGIN CALL. No, in fact you must.

Set in the very early stages of the financial collapse of only a few years ago, MARGIN CALL is, for a thriller set pretty much entirely on one floor of a building and in one 24 hour time frame, as tense a film you are likely to see. The impressive all-star cast are absolutely outstanding. It’s a fascinating but overall grim look at how one part of the financial sector began to create the domino effect. The ignorance of those at the top of the chain reeks of dangerous and devious incompetence, unaware of the actions of their employees and their disastrous decisions. The likes of Bernie Madoff and Fred Goodwin have now become the pantomime villains of the whole saga, but MARGIN CALL captures the absolute sinister essence of just what those figures were capable of, just to ‘claw back as much as they could’ before the inevitable “POP”!

It maybe unfair to single anyone out as the whole cast give superb performances. The obvious lead Quinto (also producing), is compelling and convincing as up and coming financial wiz Peter Sullivan, Bettany’s Will is committed and assured as Spacey’s trusted sidekick, while Demi Moore plays the hard nosed ‘bitch’ trying to wriggle out of any blame perfectly. Stanely Tucci is his usual terrific best as Eric Dale, the world-weary employee recently given the push but the only one with any foresight to know what is about to happen. Having Jeremy Irons playing the head of the company John Tuld, arriving in the middle of the night with his army of lawyers and advisors is the absolute ‘bastard’, you would expect him to be. This leaves two performances that for me make the film the first must-see of the year. THE MENTALIST ‘s Simon Baker as the ‘cold-as-ice’ Jared Cohen, (just watch the scene with a weeping Penn Badgley in a bathroom cubicle while Baker calmly has a shave in the nearby mirror) so emotionless and detached his character would not look out of place as a serial-killer. In the end it is Kevin Spacey’s movie, the Oscar winner is both hard-boiled and heartbreaking as the conflicted Sam Rodgers. Facing an uncertain future after years of loyal service, his character knows full well what he must live with if he is to follow orders – you can see the pain in his eyes and expressions as he knows what this means for those whose investments and life savings will now amount to nothing.

The film really is a morality play, similar in fact to another Spacey starring ensemble classic GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, not in terms of plot but certainly in mood and tone. It poses the question that as much as we loathe those responsible for the financial meltdown would we really have acted any differently to secure a comfortable future for ourselves and our children?

Nail-bitingly gripping and unmissable!

MARGIN CALL is released in UK cinemas 13th January 2012.