Margin Call
Tags: entertaining, suspenseful, boring, realism

Plot synopsis:
An unnamed Wall Street firm begins a mass layoff on the trading floor during a normal business day. Among those let go is Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci), head of risk management. Dale attempts to contact his former employer to look into his most recent and unfinished project, but an uninterested human resources staff tells him to leave immediately. While boarding the elevator he meets one of his underlings, junior risk analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto), and gives him a USB drive-stick to look at with vague instructions to “be careful.”
Sullivan works late that night to finish Dale’s project, and discovers that current volatility in the firm's portfolio of mortgage-backed securities will soon exceed the historical volatility levels of the positions. Because of excessive leverage, if the firm's assets decrease by 25%, the loss will be greater than the value of the firm itself and the firm will go bankrupt. Sullivan, fellow junior analyst Seth Bregman (Penn Badgley) tell their their desk head Will Emerson (Paul Bettany) about the situation. Emerson alerts floor head Sam Rogers (Kevin Spacey), who also returns to the office. They attempt to contact Dale, but his company phone has been shut off and he hasn’t returned home yet.
These employees remain at the firm for a series of meetings throughout the night with senior executives, including division head Jared Cohen (Simon Baker), chief risk management officer Sarah Robertson (Demi Moore), and finally CEO John Tuld (Jeremy Irons). Cohen's plan is for the firm to quickly sell all of the toxic assets before the market learns of their worthlessness, thereby limiting the firm's exposure, a course favored by Tuld. Rogers protests that dumping the firm's toxic assets will spread the risk throughout the financial sector and destroy the firm's relationships with its counterparties. He also warns Cohen that their customers will quickly learn of the firm's plans, once they realize that the firm is only selling the toxic securities.
They finally locate Dale and Will is able to convince him to return to the office for the day, letting him know that the firm will fight him on his severance and other benefits unless he agrees to their plan. Will also is honest with Seth, telling Seth he'll lose his job but will get a large severance, and outlines how the entire trading system is basically rigged. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Robertson, Cohen, and Tuld were aware of the risks in the weeks leading up to the crisis. Tuld plans to offer Robertson's resignation to the board and employees as a scapegoat. Both Dale and Robertson are instructed to remain in the office all day and do nothing with the promise of handsome compensation in return. Robertson expresses regret for not doing more to stop the crisis.
Rogers tells his traders they are effectively ending their careers by selling the toxic assets, but they will be well compensated. The firm pulls off the fire sale despite growing suspicion from the buyers, and the firm takes tremendous losses while dumping positions for cents on the dollar. After trading hours end, there is another round of layoffs. Rogers confronts Tuld and asks to resign, but Tuld dismisses his protests, claiming that the current crisis is no different from various crashes and bear markets of the past, and that sharp gains and losses are simply part of the economic cycle. He persuades Rogers to stay at the firm for another two years, promising that there will be a lot of money to be made from the coming crisis. Tuld also informs Rogers he will promote Sullivan. Rogers says he will accept the deal, but only because he needs the money.
In a final scene, Rogers buries his dead dog in his ex-wife’s front yard in the middle of the night, and learns from her that their son’s financial firm took a big hit but survived the day’s trading.

Review: Set at a Wall Street firm on the night in 2008 when the leaders realize that changes in the market will wipe them out if they don't immediately stop selling the products that have been making them all rich, the movie centers on the moral dilemma - recognized by some characters but dismissed by others - that they face in unwinding their positions, saving themselves but shifting the pain to others.The movie finds a way to hold the mirror up to our civilization, showing how we are all complicit in a collective 'dream' (one character says at one point, in response to another who says he feels like he is in a 'dream', 'Funny, it seems like I just woke up').
So there are no villains in this movie, just people, richly drawn, beautifully acted characters realized by some of our best actors who relish the opportunity to show what they can do given a killer script and enough screen time between lines to actually be the people they are portraying.
Central to the movie's success: 1) It gets across the essence of what is going on in the financial markets without bogging us down or dumbing it down2) finding a moral question that can be resolved in a night, yet which is nevertheless a perfect allegory for the whole set of moral questions raised by an economy that works the way ours does, rewarding false confidence, recklessness, and deceit as often as industry, skill, and integrity3) the placement of young, innocent but perceptive characters at the center of the drama, who function as our eyes and ears, who are like stand-ins for all of us who weren't there, at the heart of the dream machine, when the latest fantasy of easy wealth was exposed as a collective delusion4) really 'gets' the trader ethos and manner - they are a kind of warrior caste, foul-mouthed, impulsive, deeply selfish, surviving by their ability to outplay their counterparts, and yet living by a warrior code that sets boundaries on what they will and will not do to one another (having spent three years on Wall Street several panics ago, it rang as true as any movie I have seen on the subject)It's like Mamet, except you don't have to work as hard to figure out what everyone's up to.
The ensemble is just brilliant, especially Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons.The movie works solely from inside the nameless firm – apart from minor steps outside.
I particularly liked the way the film depicts the frightening absolute and ruthless power of the corporation over the lives of people that work there as well as the implications and ripples for everyone else.How those people get sucked in to the embrace, security and pleasures of what the corporations have to offer and the consequences and vulnerabilities of those choices.The freedom and comforts that we cherish here in twenty first century USA are not as secure as we might think.
Having been the victim of corporate downsizing more than once, I was immediately engaged with this propulsive 2011 corporate drama from the beginning as Stanley Tucci's character, a seasoned risk management executive named Eric Dale, is told in a coldly indifferent manner that he is being laid off after 19 years with the same unnamed Wall Street firm.
It's a piercing yet dramatically economical scene that perfectly summarizes how bloodless the corporate world can be, and in first-time writer/director J.C. Chandor's effort set on the eve of the 2008 financial crisis , it is very cold indeed with 80% of the trading floor being let go.
Blessedly, Chandor doesn't stoop to the customary stereotypes in this corporate cage match, but what he does manage is capture the moral compass underneath each player by way of a cast that really delivers the goods with powerfully implosive performances.Zachary Quinto ("Star Trek") is initially at the center of the plot as Sullivan and performs well enough in the constraining, semi-heroic role, but the veterans really stand out here beginning with Kevin Spacey, who effectively plays against type as Sam Rogers, a genuine company man, the seen-it-all head of the trading team who rallies what's left of the trading floor with corporate brio but then faces his own cross to bear struggling to commandeer a fire sale of worthless assets dumped on unsuspecting clients.
Tucci is excellent in his smallish role as Dale and gets to show off his resigned character's engineering aptitude with a brief monologue about building a bridge.Comparatively less impressive but playing their more predictable roles fitfully are Penn Badgley as Sullivan's younger, overtly money-obsessed colleague Seth Bregman; Paul Bettany as Dale's nihilistic, snake-oil salesman of a boss, Will Emerson; and Simon Baker as the most morally despicable executive of the bunch, Jared Cohen.
Only the Jeremy Irons character (John Tuld, aka Dick Fuld) feels a bit over the top, while the rest are truly believable well-rounded depictions.Despite having good characters and amazing cinematography, the film lacks plot.
Though their job motivations may drastically differ from yours and mine, this film had no really distinct good and bad guys.The main characters were properly introduced in the time-line when logically needed.
This is a film that is sure to get some comparisons to Glengarry Glen Ross and as a deconstruction of stoic men hitting a breaking point, it does offer a similar kind of study (albeit not nearly as good) with a fantastic cast of great male actors.
As it starts out, it seemed like the story was going to give some attention to the moral complexities that must have occurred with men in this position (the investment brokers on the eve of the financial crisis), but as the film progresses it turns more and more into an acting showcase with a little bit of focus on the ramifications of what they were involved in.I feel that someone like Sorkin could have given it a lot more bite, but as it stands it still works as a fine display of some solid acting skills.
The film peaks too early, leaving a final act that drags quite a bit, and there's a symbolic subplot with Spacey's dog that is embarrassingly heavy-handed, but it's certainly worth watching if only for the chance to watch a great male cast do their thing..
I'll concede this picture is not better than The Artist (Best Picture Oscar 2012), but it's damn much closer than the competing nominees.Kevin Spacey in Margin Call (2011) goes through a number of inner changes with flying colours, and less make-up and wardrobe aids than Jean Dujardin (Actor in a leading role Oscar 2012).Demi Moore in Margin Call shows a bit of leg and a big talent, both saying her lines and when she has no lines to say - which in my book is at least nomination material comparable if not better than, the cloning of an iron lady with due respect to Maryl Streep (Actress in a leading role Oscar 2012).Paul Bettany is surprisingly good as a top villain, and that should have been awarded instead of keeping rewarding established names like Christopher Plummer (Actor in a supporting role Oscar 2012).I'll not contend that Mary McDonnell's work in Margin Call, reduced to a marginal role of 3 minutes at best, was better than the much helpful support by Octavia Spencer in The Help (Actress in a supporting role Oscar 2012).
(Directing Oscar 2012).Pete Beaudreau did a wonderful job, so as you won't notice is presence in Margin Call - what would have been a good reason to award him instead of maybe Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall (Film Editing Oscar 2012).I'd have elected Erin Ayanian and Fabiola Arancibia for their work on Demi Moore, rather the overdone makeup of Mark Coulier and J.
Roy Helland on their Iron Lady (Makeup Oscar 2012).Nathan Larson discreet, varied, mood creation, imaginative music certainly beats the expected score by Ludovic Bourse (Original Score Oscar 2012), and probably all other nominees, hands down.Most of all, J.C. Chandor was robbed of award and nomination for his original screenplay that is what the people should be exposed to, to understand the reality of the last three years with a perspective that goes through 7 centuries, with a dialogue that all actors delivery naturally, because they were very careful written by someone who knew what he was writing about!
2. I am confirmed in my conceited opinion that good movies are rarely rewarded by the Oscar crowd.PS - This film is rated R, probably because of the repeated use of the F**k word, despite the characters saying the expletive or the verb are subjected to unbearable psychological and economic pressure.
From following the news the last few years, the audience is well aware Peter just figured out the securities which the banking industry has been trading based on lousy home mortgages is about to send everyone to the poor house.Peter calls his new boss Will (Paul Bettany) who call his boss Sam (Kevin Spacey) who calls his boss Jared (Simon Baker) who calls his boss John (Jeremy Irons).
I am not saying they deliver poor performances, but someone is going to come in second fiddle to Jeremy Irons.I do not actually recommend this film even though the cast will most likely be strong nominees for any ensemble cast award this season.
If it lacks the brilliance of Michael Douglas in a role made for him, it has a whole cast of excellent fits, from Kevin Spacey as a tiring trader having shades of doubts about the business to Simon Baker as an up and coming executive slightly outside of the technicals to Jeremy Irons as the boss's boss who doesn't really know the business except by instinct, which is fine.
I am surprised that so many good actors (save for demi moore) agreed to do this film--specially jeremy irons.as i watched the movie i kept waiting for something nteresting to happen.
Jeremy Irons great line "So that we may survive" makes you feel as if you are in that crisis meetingThe actors are fantastic and tie in this film that gives us a glimpse into the financial crisis that went on around us.
For such an ensemble cast, this film was disappointing; Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany, Stanley Tucci and - for goodness sake - Kevin Spacey in one movie?
Like Boiler Room and Wall Street, Margin Call is a film highlighting behind the scenes of the financial industry.
This film is an honest, sincere effort to show us what happened in the big Wall Street banks during the height of the financial crisis.
Honesty in writing and performance only adds to the horror that you feel unfolding on screen.I imagine this started life as a play - or will finish it that way - but in the interim, Margin Call has defied even that humble restriction to become THE definitive Wall Street movie..
The only thing that kept me from going to sleep on this movie was Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons, both were great.
The movie tries to show that some people actually cared about what was going to happen with the markets when in reality all they cared about was losing their jobs, money, and getting in trouble legally.
The only exception (and not by a large margin), was Jeremy Irons, who was the only convincing character in this film.The pace was very slow, and perhaps adding an appropriate score may have made it feel faster, as it felt there was just too much blank/boring time in between scenes.So it's a 7/10 mainly for the interesting writing..
This is the beginning of one of the best films of its type about the cut-throat world of financial firms on Wall Street, "Margin Call".The man they let go, Eric Dale, was some kind of senior risk-management adviser, and he was working on the profit-income-risk of the company and realizing something was terribly wrong.
The sharp script and top-notch acting (from the likes of Kevin Spacey, Staley Tucci, Zachary Quinto and Paul Bettany, though I was somewhat underwhelmed by Jeremy Irons) create engaging, relatable, complex characters who give us only glimpses into what makes them tick, and as dull as a film about banking sounds, that's enough to make it constantly engaging.
Very enjoyable and fast pace despite a subject matter that would seem as interesting as watching paint dry.After about 15 minutes it was Glengarry Glen Ross that was brought to mind, in a good way I might add and not because Kevin Spacey was in both films.The claustrophobia of the office in Margin Call was overpowering and well portrayed, heightened by the lack of score and the absence of anything organic, no trees, a little sky and no emotional attachments.
A terrific film that dramatizes the events leading up to the most recent financial meltdown.A cast of middling to great actors all give excellent performances in a movie so terse and devoid of histrionics that it feels almost like a documentary.
The various characters have greater to lesser feelings of guilt about this -- Jeremy Irons and Paul Bettany get a couple of dog-eat-dog speeches, while Kevin Spacey and Zachary Quinto serve as the film's moral conscience -- but really no one person's opinion matters much in the face of a steam engine charging out of control."Margin Call" takes a very resigned tone to the whole episode.
The second reason would be a spoiler, but lets just say that Goldman is pretty aggressive at "making way for new blood" relative to the others even though the movies depiction was way overblown.I think many will be happy to know that the amount of "inside lingo" is kept to a minimum, but that doesn't mean that you will be able to understand a handful of things mentioned without a pretty good cursory knowledge of financial jargon.
Separated from the world (barely a single character unrelated to the firm has any screen time or speaking role), focused on their personal short term gains (one broker obsesses over the annual salaries of his superiors), and trapped in a situation where everyone is convinced that they "need the money", selfish people act in their own self interest.Margin Call plays like a documentary.
I liked the movie, but that's because I've been an executive and a trader and immediately understood the implications, characters, motivations etc.A junior analyst does some math and discovers a comet is about to hit them, they decide to let the peasants die so they can get out of the way, end of story.....The real story, however, is yanking the veneer off the business so we the public can see how nonchalantly and arrogantly the people in real power in our country will devise a way to take money from us, then throw us to the wolves when it blows up.
So if you are looking for great acting showing what it was very probably like in real life, this movie delivers in a big way and includes a bunch of artful symbolism.You guys should love it for being the truth it is..
Some businesses have only one thing in mind - their gain - and that is the only thing in the mind of some of the corporate big wigs.Margin Call has a great cast - especially Stanley Tucci, Kevin Spacey, Zachary Quinto, and Jeremy Irons.
The key line at the end of the movie is when he agrees to go along with the company's plans because "I need the money."One of the things i liked most about this film is that the tension builds like a scene working up to the big gunfight in a Western.
Margin Call is, in few words, a rather boring TV-style film that got shrunk from 10+ hours to two; ++++++++++++++EXTREME SPOILERS BELOW++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++This review might get complicated from now on.MC starts great actors such as Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Jeremy Irons ..
The entire movie takes place over two days and one sleepless night within an unnamed Wall Street investment firm in a fictionalized retelling of the days just before the 2008 financial meltdown; the film starts with a very subtle bang: a mass firing of employees begins and one of them happens to be the head of the risk department, Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci plays him with a smoldering intensity), despite his protests that he is onto something big, they take away his cellphone coverage and he gets escorted out of the building by security.
Unfortunately as I pass the time away it's a God awful feeling to be in this predicament, so I almost feel compelled to give a review of this fine film.A cast of all star actors along with a fine screenplay really give meat to this movie as it propels the audience through this riveting edge of your seat day at a NYC investment bank at the dawn of the financial crisis.
I am not sure if I understand it fully but basically it is a choice of morality - whether to sell the "soon-valueless" stocks to the market and saving the company.Indeed, what makes the film good is not the plot itself, but the different attitudes of the depicted characters towards such a decision.
The performances by the all-star cast are all great, and the script is full of lots of technical dialogue I honestly don't understand, I certainly don't understand all the components that lead to the 2008 financial crisis, but this is a good story, making the characters humanised, and it feels claustrophobic, all in all it is a worthwhile drama.
The film co-stars a large assortment of A list celebrities including Quinto, Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Stanley Tucci, Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore, Simon Baker and Penn Badgley.
And Demi Moore as Sarah Robertson, a middle executive who in the end seems powerless.Good movie, as an example of what most likely goes on during a financial crisis.