The scariest thing about Margin Call is how true to life it all seems, because it is. An all star cast tells the tale of the early days of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Margin Call doesn’t lay the blame for the meltdown on the large nameless company portrayed here, but it does suggest that – at least in this version of events – that alternative measures may have softened the blow.
The film opens with Eric (Stanley Tucci) unceremoniously being given the chop from his job with clinical precision. 19 years service terminated in under 4 minutes. Told pack your shit and get the fuck out, only not in so many words.
On the death march out Eric hands young up and comer Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) a parting gift and a cryptic warning. Interest piqued, Eric works into the night, expanding and enhancing Eric’s work until he realises the gravity of the situation; the never ending gravy train is about to derail…
That same night a progressively larger group of higher ups contact their higher ups, until the seldom seen CEO John Tuld (Jeremy Irons) arrives in the wee hours of the morning on a private chopper to canvas the what-ifs.
When there are this many zeros involved following a minus sign it seems EVERYONE is wide awake.
In the ensuing emergency meeting of the minds it is evident that ethical boundaries are quite blurry to some, perhaps more so to those higher up the ladder. Maybe the view from up top isn’t as simple, perhaps little desk-signs proclaiming ‘The buck stops here’ are only relevant if the buck can’t be pushed.
The frightening part of the film is how no-one is painted as a diabolical mastermind, there is no-one who cackles and screams ‘to hell with the working class’ and no red buttons are pushed nor menacing levers pulled.
Just lots of meetings, cigarette stubs and furrowed brows, after which it is agreed that pushing numbers around won’t do the trick this time. Something more severe. More final. More shitty, is required.
Given the fact that the GFC is now a large black mark in history there should be no surprise or twist as to how this turns out, but that makes Margin Call no less riveting. After the first 15 minutes or so you realise nothing is to be handed to you as a viewer, those that lean in, listen up and pay attention will be well rewarded with one of the better dramas in recent years.
Final Rating – 7.5 / 10. You can keep your The Social Network, as dry as Margin Call is and as depressing as the repercussions are, I’d still much rather watch this any day.
