Ladies and gentlemen, please gather your pitchforks and form a disorderly mob. The sophisticated, stylish boardroom thriller Margin Call is the best Wall Street movie in years – and it’s going to make you very angry.
A taut, tense, character-driven fictionalisation of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, JC Chandor’s stunning debut is what Inside Job would have been if adapted by Aaron Sorkin. As dark offices are lit by Manhattan’s skyline and the neon glow of countless computer screens, Chandor’s theatrical sets are the perfect backdrop for the series of shady deals and self-serving decisions that allowed one firm to bring the economy to its knees, putting not only faces but (believe it or not) souls to those individuals whose actions reverberated around the globe. Though the huge amounts and high stakes would on their own make for an enthralling, infuriating drama, the sharp, charged interactions between the fully rounded characters add a level of human interest that’s unexpected, and quite brilliant.
As a cocky trader who annually claims $75,000 worth of hookers, drugs and booze as “entertainment expenses”, but is still disgusted by the actions of his superiors, Paul Bettany shines as a realistic blend of morals and materialism, while Kevin Spacey gives his best turn in years as the conflicted department head who becomes aware of both the firm’s problems and the inevitable and unforgiveable escape plan far, far too late.
But though Chandor humanises the traders, he doesn’t romanticise them. A brilliant sequence lets us hear Bettany masterfully turning on his cockney charm to knowingly shift millions of worthless stock onto unwitting buyers. It’s a credit to the actors that you despise their actions while not demonising their characters.
Well, apart from Jeremy Irons, the purring pantomime baddie of an influential outside consultant who asserts that, “If you’re the first out the door, it’s not called panicking.” No, it’s called deserting, and this superbly acted, thoughtful and enraging film will leave you demanding a court martial or two.