This is a must-see movie. It reveals the ins and outs of the sub-prime mortgage mess that imploded Wall Street in 2007-08. And caused a world-wide recession. While it may not sound entertaining, it is done so well, and in such a fresh way, that anyone with the slightest interest in current events will enjoy it. The facts and sequence of events are unbelievably complicated.
While the movie does an excellent job of explaining them, step by step, it is still somewhat hard to follow—which is the point of the entire story: The greed of the financial industry knew no bounds. Execs at Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others created complex ‘products’ with big returns, but no transparency.
Ryan Gosling is exhilarating to watch as the snarky Jared Vennett, one of the four traders/fund managers who saw what was happening and bet against the mortgage industry. He presents the film’s narration, which is illustrated in whimsical ways, like having Selena Gomez explain behavioral economics alongside economist Richard Thaler, and chef Anthony Bourdain illustrate the meaning of CDOs (collateralized debt obligations) with seafood (“They’re the financial equivalent of making fish chowder out of three-day-old fish.”).Christian Bale is especially riveting (if a little creepy) as Silicon Valley fund manager Michael Burry, a brilliant ‘idiot savant’ who was the first to realize what was going on.
Should You See It? Absolutely, unless you have zero interest in understanding the world recession.
Viewed at Chase Park Plaza Cinemas