You guys
know by now how dedicated I am to my films and my film watching. But even I need my sleep.
Especially since, working in events, my hours are slightly “off kilter” at the
best of times. It is generally not a good idea to put on a film in the middle
of the night (and by that I literally do
mean around midnight) saying “oh I’ll just watch half an hour to wind
down”. This, generally never “actually”
happens, even I know that. But I did not expect to throw caution to the wind
and sit up until well after 3.00 a.m. (on a day that actually had an early
start too), thereby knocking all my energy levels like dominos for days. So
worth it. In short, first lesson, watch Margin Call at a reasonable hour. You
will be compelled to finish it and trust me, the “knock-on effect” is best
avoided, even though it is worth it for such a great film…
The
storyline does not seem nearly as nail-biting as you might think at first
glance. We open at an investment bank. It is the early stages of the economic
crisis, hence cutbacks are the order of the day. The “axe-men” are brought in
and an inordinately large number of people lose their jobs. In this crowd is
the incredibly able risk management division head. Almost as an afterthought,
as he is almost physically thrown out of the building, he passes a report he
was working on to his protégé Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto of Heroes fame).
While Peter is not quite sure what to make of it at first, he gets stuck in and
soon comes to a rather terrifying conclusion. The company is literally moments
away from financial disaster. With so much at stake frantic phone calls are
made throughout the night as the big guns of the company (Kevin Spacey, Simon
Baker, Jeremy Irons) gather in the dead of night to try and figure out how they
can save themselves from this mess. And what the cost will be…
First of
all, of course there are rumours going round that this is a “real” story of a
big company but we shall pass on those as we cannot seem to find any legitimate
and official evidence to that effect. I mean, I wouldn’t know, economics has
never been my strong suite. Thankfully the film does an excellent job at
“dumbing it down” so that I’m pretty sure you will get the exact nature of the
problem if you have some sort of a grasp on economics. If, on the other hand,
like me you have a mental block on the topic, it doesn’t matter. Even I got the
general gist of it. And trust me, a general gist was more than enough to make
the story wildly exciting.
Of course
here the story is not so much about economy but morals. About disconnecting
from your feelings to survive. And I mean, check out the cast, how can the film
NOT be chock full of emotion with a cast like that? As a person rather used to
casting Kevin Spacey as a “bad guy” (though I think having recently watched him
in House of Cards does have something to do with that) I was slightly taken
aback to see him cast as the one with the conscience this time. I mean of
course he is brilliant in both roles but you know what I mean. He does make a
particularly good villain.
At the end
of the day though, the story is as old as the hills and really about a choice
we all face every day. Good or bad? Looking out only for yourself or looking
out for your fellow man as well? What if looking out for your fellow man also
ends up meaning looking out for yourself? Oh darling, I hear you cry, it’s a
film about bankers and traders do stop philosophising. Ah but you see, that’s
the beauty of it. If you take the point of view that life is a cut-throat,
every man for himself type struggle (and I don’t necessarily myself, but I can
see why it would be considered a valid argument), what better metaphor for it
than the trading floor? Or to put it another way, what better way to discuss
the value of ethics but in front of a backdrop of the epitome of ruthless
capitalism? I think that’s the real reason I couldn’t quite take my eyes off
it. Well you’ll just have to see it for yourself. We can discuss the whys and
wherefores later on…
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