Margin Call (2011), directed by J.C. Chanda
Almost every major character in Margin Call asks at one point "how much has won last year?". The characters ask this question always having in mind someone from the company they work usually positioned on top of the same company . It's a relevant question and a leitmotif of the film and a character responds to a question time and details and how to spend that money. Somewhere in the depths of its culture of capitalism is built on obsession to produce and spend more money.
Essentially talking about obsession, this movie becomes a deconstruction of microeconomic practices that led to the recent economic modern crisis. The film runs during a night in the headquarters of a large US investment companies, shortly before the beginning of the financial crisis of 2008. Decision-making assets from the company who discover that sitting on a powder keg consisting of a hotel portfolio consists mostly of bad loans is actually a bleak picture of an entire financial system and put the money against the interests of other citizens. The story is told in a narrow context, but highly effective, which makes it all the more relevant.
What makes a good movie Margin Call and pleasant to watch are not only well connected script or director's safe J.C. Chand, but the really good performance of actors. The characters are very well written and interpreted. The film dodges the clichés and is not a demonization of the protagonists. The contrary, the spectator is invited to privacy characters and has the opportunity to look at their human face. No matter how much you wish to hate these people and that seems to control its greed, you get to understand better the reasons for their decisions and the rear of the world in which they live.
Margin Call manages to raise a very good distribution, the most impressive actors. If I had to choose I would probably prefer Paul Betanny that shines in the role of "bad boy" in costume. It is a subtle and balanced interpretation from a brilliant actor. I would still be able to overlook the performances of Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons. They become the faces of characters that I sneezed and I empathized equally.
Emotional force of the subject film could lead him to the trap of exploitation and manipulation of the viewer to conclude its easy. Margin Call manages to be a narrative but balanced and relevant. The film retains the objectivity and maintain a good pace throughout the visionaries, gaining hints of thriller at times. Social criticism and profound analysis of modern capitalism appear in unexpected moments and have a special subtlety, coming in the form of replicas very best articulated by some players as good.
