Margin Call (2011)
Investment bank employees race against time during the financial crisis. Perfect for fans of intense, high-stakes dramas like *The Big Short*.
Genres: Thriller, Drama
Cast
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Margin Call(2011)
Overview
A thriller that revolves around the key people at an investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the financial crisis.
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Cast
Full Cast & Crew
Kevin Spacey
Sam Rogers

Zachary Quinto
Peter Sullivan

Paul Bettany
Will Emerson

Jeremy Irons
John Tuld

Simon Baker
Jared Cohen

Penn Badgley
Seth Bregman

Demi Moore
Sarah Robertson

Stanley Tucci
Eric Dale

Ashley Williams
Heather Burke

Mary McDonnell
Mary Rogers

Aasif Mandvi
Ramesh Shah

Susan Blackwell
Lauren Bratberg

Maria Dizzia
Executive Assistant

Jimmy Palumbo
Security Guard

Al Sapienza
Louis Carmello

Peter Y. Kim
Timothy Singh

Grace Gummer
Lucy

Oberon K.A. Adjepong
Coffee Guy
Featured Comments/Tips
Another movie about Wall Street. Good plot and good story development, lacks a bit of more concrete information but passes the clear message that in the markets the small investors always loose in troubled times. Nice to see.
Agree. Good performance. A bit difficult to understand the underestimated risks discovered by Mr Spoc.
This movie feels like it goes by an hour. Not a single boring scene, although some of the financial stuff I didn't fully understand.
Wall Street and what happened in 2008 has fascinated me lately, and Margin Call was a nice way to see how things felt from the inside...in those crucial moments...when someone found out it was all going to hell. Yes...we all called the investment banks and their employees for crooks and thieves after this hit the fan, and some of them were, but most just did what they were told. They tried to get out of there with the severance they were due...and probably felt bad about it, but did it anyway. Sad to say that is human nature, and most would have done the same. Just that is what makes Margin Call so good. Chandor humanizes the people that started it all. They might not want to do it, and struggled with the morality of it all, but they did it anyway for that last check. Just as it probably happened all over the place at the start of this crisis. Excellent actors doing their thing well, and a story that actually makes a good amount of suspense makes for a good watch. Margin Call is recommended viewing.
I loved this movie for its subdued suspense. What I did not like however was the ending, not because it was unrealistic, quite the contrary actually. Don'#39;t want to spoiler it, but '#34;I'#39;m mad as hell and I'#39;m not gonna take this anymore'#34; comes to mind :D
A boring, forgettable corporate drama that doesn’t delve into its subject matter as deep as _The Big Short_ does, nor does it bring the emotion/shock value of something like _The Wolf of Wallstreet_. I think it’s a big mistake to reduce a meaty, complex topic like the financial crisis to just another tale about corporate greed. Besides, this movie isn’t educational or entertaining about any of that. Instead, this is much more interested in depicting boring finance bros talking in rooms about who’s the bigger asshole. It’s like watching an episode of _Suits_ if you’d take out the great characters and dialogue. They got some pretty great actors for this, but even people like Jeremy Irons and Kevin Spacey aren’t capable of creating good scenes when the material is so surface level. Like the world it’s depicting, the movie is also directed with zero personality. You can really tell this is made by someone with a lack of experience in directing feature films because of how flat the camerawork, editing and blocking are. I’m honestly surprised that this wasn’t developed as an HBO original or for tv, because that’s the feeling I got from watching it. 4/10
Margin Call...and decline. I kept waiting for it to boom into the 'thriller' it calls itself. All it does is fall into disappointment. With an ensemble as heavy as this, you'd expect something bigger or at least better. Almost everything feels dull, the actors, lighting, colouring, dialogue, pace, and retelling. The repetitive, boring, workplace blame is great for realism, but well away from being enjoyable or even borderline watchable. There are far better financial movies, and I'd recommend most of those over this. Also, Spocks' eyebrows took way more attention than they needed.
_This_ is the movie that began my confusion about Penn Badgley being Adam Brody. I remember watching this the firs time thinking, "Man, that kid from The O.C. is a pretty good actor" only to find out after getting home that was an entirely different actor. Also, this movie continues to prove that Jeremy Irons can _truly_ pull off being a cold-hearted bastard even when he's not committing regicide and subsequently banishing his nephew, or holding New York City hostage to rob the Federal Reserve.
Excellent movie about the causes and responsibilities of the financial sub-prime crisis of 2008. The movie becomes at times a bit technical, but manages to show different aspects and points of view of the crisis.
There was an assumption of audience knowledge that shouldn't have been there tbh. You have to have some knowledge about the 2008 financial crisis for a lot of this movie to make any sense. Kind of annoying, even if you do understand what's going on. They easily could've added a 5 minute scene to the beginning (or anywhere else really) that showed someone on a fixed income getting approved for a mortgage they clearly couldn't afford and it would've made the core issue way more clear for the audience. The hollow ending didn't do the movie any favors either.
yada yada. too damn short.
good movie. the senior partners emergency meeting at the beginning of the movie was excellent. Jeremy Irons was great in that scene as was Zach Quinto. The reset of the movie had me engaged but did not go beyond '#34;good'#34; for me.
I like the pyramid system of the company. There is always a boss of the boss. It has also caught my attention that the higher up, the less they know. They are commercial. While below it is full of engineers.
Great acting all around, especially by Spacey, Bettany, Irons, and Quinto.
As I strongly believe that most ratings are subjective and personal, I'#39;m gonna rate this a 5, because, while I couldn'#39;t be bothered with the plot, other people might'#39;ve liked it a whole lot more. Still, let'#39;s get real for a sec: the picture'#39;s pretty boring...
This gives a glimpse at the speculation industry that led to the 2007 worldwide financial collapse. There are a couple movies and a documentary to also watch to get a better idea of what happened. Too Big To Fail, The Untouchables on PBS and The Big Short. Anyway, well done while not getting into specifics on what caused the collapse. And on another note, it'#39;s a disaster to reverse the legislation put in place to stop it from happening again.
must be very (big insult) to do what these that night and this morning to others to save them.
'gt;'#34;So, what you'#39;re telling me, is that the music is about to stop, and we'#39;re going to be left holding the biggest bag of odorous excrement ever assembled in the history of capitalism.'#34; Crazy how much greed drives the market and innocent people get affected. That being said, this movie is fantastic. I love The Big Short so another movie showing a more serious and focused tone of the 2008 financial crisis was a good surprise.
Featured User Reviews

When "Eric" (Stanley Tucci) is let go from his risk analysis job on Wall Street, his successor "Sullivan" (Zachary Quinto) soon realises that the firm is siting on a time bomb that could costs them all their jobs. He brings it to the attention of his boss "Cohen" (Simon Baker) who shares with "Sam" (Kevin Spacey) and chairman "Tuld" (Jeremy Irons) who hastily convenes a 3am meeting to discuss their options. What now ensues is a tautly directed observation of venality and self preservation that is really compelling to watch. Irons is way better than usual - indeed his plan to basically on-pass their debts to their unsuspecting clients as if they were getting a great bargain seemed almost reasonable. Spacey comes across well as his conflicted sidekick who at least has some semblance of scruples, and there's also quite an engaging effort from Penn Badgley ("Seth") a young man whose dreams of wealth and success are about to get throttled before they really begin. Sadly, Quinto is not a very versatile actor, he has a look (akin to bewilderment) that he offers to the camera - but that's about all, which is a shame as his character is actually quite crucial as this story progresses. This film doesn't really have a beginning or an end, but offers us an excellent glimpse at just how some people can put a smiley face on deceit and still, somehow, come out intact. This is a much more subtle and menacing look at just how the 2008 financial crisis started, at how some people - even at the last moment - believed it could be manipulated to their advantage, and is really well worth a watch.
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