There are two well-known theories when it comes to examining the true nature of man. Some say that human nature is fundamentally good, whereas others maintain that it is intrinsically bad. The director J.C. Chandor answers this chicken-or-egg issue through his debut film, Margin Call. It sufficiently portrays the evil and selfish aspects of humans throughout the plot. This phenomenal film puts great emphasis on the true essence of individuals, allowing viewers to reflect upon the unsolved philosophical inquiry.
 | ||||||||||||||
▲ Collection of four main characters of the film.Provided by homorazzi.com
| ||||||||||||||
A renowned financial company is downsizing and one of the victims is the risk management division head, Eric Dale, who was working on a major analysis just when he was let go. Before riding the elevator, Eric hands over a USB to his protégé, Peter Sullivan, with an unnerving admonition, "Be careful." Feeling anxious at his last comment, Peter completes the study late into the night and then agitatedly calls his colleagues about the company's financial disaster he has discovered from the data. What follows is a long night of panicked double checking and double dealing as the senior management prepare to do whatever it takes to mitigate the debacle even as the handful of conscientious colleagues find themselves hauled into the unethical abyss.
Margin Call portrays the last night of good times on Wall Street, as a fatal insecurity travels up the executive ladder at an investment firm; catastrophic speculation in the mortgage markets is leading to the firm's collapse. We can still recall those days in the summer of 2008, during the Obama-McCain campaign, when America seemed overflowing with prosperity, and the stock market was setting records. Then one firm after another was forced to declare bankruptcy, the nation's economic structure was threatened, and Congress ponied up its huge bailout.
Due to the recession of the United States (U.S.), many regions that are dependent upon America’s economy were hugely affected negatively. Many firms had to declare insolvency and thus many workers were laid off, eventually elevating the unemployment rate to an insurmountable level. This film particularly shed lights on the urgent situation during 2008 and, because of this, many people who had actually encountered the crisis could easily relate to the content of the film.
| Margin Call employs an excellent cast who can make financial talk into compelling dialogue. They also reflect the gravity of what is happening when their company and their lives are being rendered meaningless. This scenario was enacted at many Wall Street institutions in the autumn of 2008, and fundamental financial reform is still being opposed. Many celebrated actors such as Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, and many more appeared in this movie and their acting abilities allowed the audience to concentrate on the film without feeling boredom. |
Adding up to these elements, diverse yet unique camerawork adds spice to the film. To illustrate the emergency (24 hours before the debacle), the camera focuses on facial expressions of the actors to show their nervousness. In fact, the film constantly zooms in on facial expressions since most of the actors are veterans who have numerous years of acting experience. More than 80 percent of the action was shot on the 42nd floor of One Penn Plaza to correspond with the office atmosphere. Furthermore, the general lighting of the movie is slightly dark and murky, conveying a sense of gloominess and graveness.
The director’s creativity and cleverness is shown through some of the characters’ names. Even though no particular firm is named in the movie, it seems that the name of the Jeremy Irons character, "John Tuld," has an echo of Richard Fuld, CEO of Lehman Brothers, who collected enormous "bonuses" for leading his company into bankruptcy.
Since the theme of the movie is very convoluted as it deals with the issue of the 2008 mortgage crisis, there were many technical terms that were difficult to understand for laypeople. Thankfully, J.C. Chandor makes the predicament easy to comprehend as big boss John uld, arriving in the middle of the night to find out what is wrong, says "speak to me in plain English."
The wonder of the film is that there are no classic villains. It is true that Tuld might seem closest to the antagonist, but we cannot blame him for everything that had happened to the firm. From the perspective of a boss keeping up the rule of capitalism, his decision of selling all the stocks is indeed very wise. Instead of setting a particular character as a villain, the director attempts to condemn our capitalist society for being too self-centered and ruthless.
This movie is about how its characters are concerned only by the welfare of their corporations. There is no larger sense of the public good. Corporations are amoral, and exist to survive and succeed, at whatever human cost. This film is beyond talking about the real economic recession. It actually takes a philosophical and ethical approach to tackle the current issue people are either consciously or unconsciously exposed to.
When people are asked,"Is it really worthwhile to damage other groups of people just for the benefit of our own group?" most will answer that it is not worthy and that they will work on behalf of the society as a whole. However, when faced with unforeseen turmoil, the majority of people will take the safer pathway. The movie stresses the hypocritical nature of our community and raises awareness that there is nobody to trust, even if they are your closest friends.
This film is very recommendable to those who seek a movie with solid plot, actors with experience, and lingering imagery that makes you reflect upon society. The title itself may seem somewhat heavy and erudite; however, due to different techniques used in the film, the content is very comprehensible.
Kim Jung Ik
tommy1256@korea.ac.kr