Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, and Demi Moore highlight the cast of Margin Call, a story about a company on the verge of a major catastrophe. It is a timely tale because of the recent mortgage calamity and subsequent financial dilemma that is facing the country.
The Story of Margin Call
The story is set in an office and for the most part the film takes place in this one office building. This stock brokerage company is holding mortgage investments and is in a period of downsizing. It happens that on this day Eric Dale (Tucci) is fired, or the term is actually let go. He leaves the building but not before handing a file to his subordinate Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) asking him to look into it but also to “be careful.”
Later that evening Sullivan checks out the file and picks up where Dale left off. What he discovers is something that could ruin not only the company but the entire financial system. He immediately calls his boss Will Emerson (Bettany) and co-worker Seth Bregman (Penn Badgley) who return to the office only to find out that a catastrophe is about to occur.
Emerson then calls his boss Sam Rogers (Spacey) who is shocked with the discovery made by Sullivan. When the shock wears off he brings in Sarah Robertson (Moore) and Jared Cohen (Simon Baker) who then brings in the CEO John Tuld (Irons). It is Tuld who must make a decision about what to do with the information he just received.
The Collapse of the Financial World
What Tuld says is that they have three options. They can be first, be smarter, or cheat. He says he will not cheat. So his decision is to liquidate the holdings and dump them onto the market. This, as everyone is aware, will cause a melt down of the financial world, at least for a short time. In the end Tuld says they will rise out of the ashes.
Sam Rogers is conflicted. He does not want to be the cause of a financial meltdown, but he has no other option than to go along with the decision.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
A bonus feature on the Blu-ray has a featurette with several members of the cast and filmmakers who talk about working together and the subject of the film. They discuss how the entire movie takes place in a little over 24 hours and how it all revolves around one piece of information. This one piece of information is the downfall of the company, taking with it several employees. But, as viewers of the film realize, those who were on top to begin with are the ones that will stay on top, at least most of them.
Review of Margin Call
Unless you’re an economics major, you will most likely be confused with some of the details initially discussed in the story. But as it progresses, the characters take the one piece of information and each work with it in their own way. If it weren’t for the caliber of actors, this film would probably not be as interesting as it is. Yes, it is a little confusing at times, but watching how the characters each deal with the impending catastrophe is what makes this an interesting story.
- Margin Call Blu-ray
- Studio: Lionsgate Home Entertainment
- Rated: R for language
- Running time: 107 minutes
- Release Date: December 20, 2011
3.5/5
