2015 | Dir. Adam McKay | 130 Minutes
"Truth is like poetry. And most people fucking hate poetry."
In 2005, hedge fund manager Michael Burry notices that the US housing market is on the brink of collapse. To the disbelief of his clients and his superiors, Burry approaches several major banks to create credit default swaps, a way for him to bet against the banks for substantial profit when the housing market fails. Serendipitously, the creation of the swap market catches the attention of unscrupulous Deutsche Bank bond salesman Jared Vennet, short-tempered and outspoken hedge fund manager Mark Baum and his team, young fledgling investors Charlie Geller and Jamie Shipley and their reclusive mentor Ben Rickert. As they watch the market fail beginning in 2007, the three groups learn the full extent of the greed and stupidity driving the ones responsible for ruining the economy.
Based on Michael Lewis' non-fiction account of the housing crisis, The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, Adam McKay's film is immensely entertaining while it brings to light exactly how Wall Street and the US Government wronged the average American homeowner and taxpayer, and how the institutions ultimately tore apart the world economy. The film paints a cynical, bitterly funny picture with ongoing real world problems that have yet to be resolved as of this writing.
With as much style and wit as possible, the film aims to keep its audience engaged and, quite possibly, enraged. Vennett serves as film's often condescending narrator, speaking through the fourth wall directly to the audience. Interludes featuring celebrity guests Margot Robbie, Anthony Bourdain, and Selena Gomez as themselves give the audience a crash course on complex financial concepts using easy-to-understand analogies. In a throwaway show of honesty, other characters occasionally break the fourth wall as well, pointing out minor discrepancies in the narrative, quick to point out how events actually transpired in reality.
The cast is comprised of major talent primarily featuring Christian Bale turning up his eccentricity as Burry, Steve Carell in an amusingly angry and at times heartbreaking performance as Baum, Ryan Gosling being cartoonishly aggressive as Vennett, and John Magaro and Finn Wittrock as young and occasionally naïve Geller and Shipley. In a small but important part, producer Brad Pitt plays Rickert as the blunt voice of reason. The cast also features Hamish Linklater, Rafe Spall, and Jeremy Strong making up Baum's staff at FrontPoint Capital, Marisa Tomei as Baum's weary wife, with Melissa Leo, Byron Mann, and Karen Gillan in brief but memorable roles.
Known for his prowess as a comedic writer and director, The Big Short is McKay is at the very top of his game. The film is a culmination of McKay's work as a filmmaker, skillfully breaking down the reality of a complex financial crisis for mass consumption and maximum cinematic impact.
FRAGMENT
- This is the first Adam McKay film to not feature regular collaborator Will Ferrell
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Karen Gillan (Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)
- Marisa Tomei (May Parker in Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home)
- Christian Bale (Gorr in Thor: Love and Thunder)
