The Big Short
'the truth is like poetry and most people hate poetry' -Overheard in a Washington D.C. bar by Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short
The drama-comedy The Big Short is directed by Adam McKay (Step Brothers, Anchorman, The Other Guys) and is written by Adam McKay and Charles Randolph. The original book is written by Michael Lewis. The Big Short stars Ryan Gosling as Jared Vennett, Christian Bale as Michael Burry, Steve Carell as Mark Baum, Brad Pitt as Ben Rickert, Finn Wittrock as Jamie Shipley, John Magaro as Charlie Geller, Jeremy Strong as Vinnie Daniel, Rafe Spall as Danny Moses, Hamish Linklater as Porter Collins, and Marisa Tomei as Cynthia Baum.
^Very talented cast here. I like Adam McKay on the far right looking like he doesn't belong there.^
In 2008, the housing market collapsed creating an all time high for unemployment and homelessness. Only a handful of people saw this coming in a sort of "bubble" that they could only see. The Big Short tells the story of these people and how they profited off of the financial crisis of a lifetime.
In 2005, Michael Burry, founder of Scion Capital LLC Hedge Fund and a complete outsider to the society's norms, discovered that the housing market was extremely unstable and could collapse soon due to subprime loans (these are loans provided to people who may have some sort of difficulty
maintaining the repayment schedule, which could result in backlash such as unemployment, divorce, etc.) that were at high risk and providing fewer and fewer returns. Michael takes advantage of this and shorts the housing market meaning to bet against it and profiting off the crash. Word gets out once he goes to bank after bank to create credit default swaps (a financial agreement between a buyer of a CDS and the seller. The seller of the CDS insures the buyer against some reference loan defaulting and compensates the buyer once the default or other credit event occurs. The buyer, however, has to a series of make payments to the seller for this insurance). Even though many banks accept Burry's proposition, they think he's crazy and think they can get a quick buck off him. This proposition spreads but isn't taken seriously. Only a handful of people confirm this crisis including Jared Vennett, Mark Baum and his group (Porter Collins, Vinnie Daniel, and Danny Moses), and the two start-up investors and their adviser, Charlie Geller, Jamie Shipley, and Ben Rickert. The collapse of the housing market happens and all hell breaks loose. People become unemployed, people become homeless, and people lose everything that they own. The characters in The Big Short lose their faith in the system, but profit very immensely off Wall Street's "stupidity". What's scary is that almost nobody involved in the creation of the CDO bubble is arrested and CDOs are sold again under a different name.
^I'm so sorry this is confusing. Stock market terminology is just like that. I tried to make it as simple as possible, but I understand if you want to punch my face.^
As you can see, this film is sort of hard to follow what with all the terms of investing, banking, and the stock market, but make no mistake, The Big Short is fantastic. As a film, I enjoyed the hell out of it and Adam McKay and crew make banking as entertaining as possible. Since McKay is usually known for doing comedy collaborations with Will Ferrel, The Big Short was a curve off the road of his straight comedies. It was an interesting take on such a heavy topic and if you have seen a McKay film, his sort of improvisational humor is pretty clear. The Big Short definitely has those moments where you can see that type of humor. However, it was nice to see McKay do something a little different and it paid off. What helped immensely was this type of humor, but also how the fourth wall was broken. The narration of Ryan Gosling had me engaged from the start partly due to the writing and the dialogue. The Big Short even had a handful of cameos explaining some of the terms that were really confusing to get from just hearing the name. That was a charming and effective touch.
^Adam McKay (middle) is such a lovable goofball!^
If you know the details as to what exactly was going on and the extent of the crisis, then you would be in the minority. Many people that I talked to about this issue said that they were never 100% clear about the situation and that as of today, subprime loans, the reason people can bet against the market, are still being sold today, just under a different name. It's a scary thing and I really believe that despite the hilariousness of The Big Short and the dramatic nature of this event, the story of the crash of the housing market is an important story to be told. People should be aware of the mistakes other people made in the past and learn from those mistakes. I commend the guts that the producers, director, actors, and everyone behind the camera because it's such a scary subject and knowing that there are people who can and are willing to profit off our misery is so sickening.
^Be cautious of your money, people.^
I'm going to give maximum praises to the talented cast in The Big Short too. Both Steve Carell and Christian Bale are nominated for a Golden Globe award. The rest of the cast also had award worthy performances, however, I have to hand it, again, to the screenplay, which subsequently is also nominated for a Golden Globe, for the character arcs of these two people. Mark Baum (Carell) is an angry and hurt character, but by the end, comes out of his shell and becomes somewhat of a better person. Michael Burry (Bale) is an awkward and carefree individual who finds out about this bursting bubble and wants to profit off of it, but his fall from grace makes it so that we kind of feel bad for him and forget about his greedy characteristics.
What I have said about these characters doesn't take away from the fact that they profited off our loss. That still makes them despicable. Within a story, however, I loved the way they were portrayed.
^Mark Baum (right)^
^Michael Burry^
Even though I thoroughly enjoyed The Big Short for how it was shown, humorous and dramatic, it is still a movie about a boring subject: banking. If I haven't made it clear yet, The Big Short is a heavy subject to wrap your mind around just because of the confusing nomenclature used in Wall Street. I would lie to you and say that I understood all of it. I even had to look up some of the terms while I was writing this review! Nevertheless, for what it's worth, I wouldn't have understood as much as I did if it weren't for the way it was depicted on screen. I still enjoyed the devastating and paranoid filled ride.
^I believe they're discussing how the collapse of AAA, AA, A, BBB, BB, and B stocks will collapse, thus being able to profit off the prediction with credit default swaps...Wall Street style (cursing like a sailor).^
The collapse of the housing market was something I really never understood, so I pretty much took the crisis for granted. Then again, I never had a view from the inside of what was happening. The Big Short let me see through that window into the greed of the handful of Wall Street employees. Steve Carell, Christian Bale, and the rest of the cast really created an on screen illustration of how despicable these people were. Plus, Adam McKay and Charles Randolph adapting Michael Lewis' non-fiction book had a profound impact on the success of The Big Short. Now that we are a little bit more informed on this issue, we should be more aware of our financial status' and have a backup for everything.
Pro
- Adam McKay's mark on the film
- Steve Carell and Christian Bale
- Entertaining way to talk about such an important topic
- Still, the topic is boring and confusing: banking
4.4/5
The Big Short is rated R for pervasive language and some sexuality/nudity
Watch the trailer here
The Big Short is in theaters everywhere now
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