Real quick synopsis, the Head of Risk who was just fired was working on some numbers that don't look too good...on his way out he gives them to his subordinate who after running the numbers and models starts calling people back into the firm late at night on a Thursday to discuss their ramifications to not only the firm...but the entire financial market. From here it keeps escalating to higher and higher levels of management.
What really makes this such a good thriller...is what a great job they did catching what was really going on at the time and likely now. For someone who works(ed) for an Investment Bank I would be very curious to hear what they thought, for someone like me that has learned about their business as a business partner I found it fascinating and so dead on in many places that many if not familiar with this world will think as bull...but are really wholly accurate. For the OWS crowd and their supporters...this is porn. They will be foaming at the mouth watching this.
There are quite a few lines and soliloquy's here that were really dead on and I will mention where to look for them and who spoke them along with their roles ...but will not provide them to keep this spoiler free.
- Penn Bagley the Jr Analyst's explanation of his job in the town car and his scene in the Men's room stall
- Paul Bettany the Head Trader getting dark on the roof and in belief the way the world works in his sports car
- Jeremy Irons the CEO John Tuld (Lehman ya think?!) in the board room and the executive dining room...Has he ever played a Vampire? If not...he needs to
- Kevin Spacy is a Managing Director and one of the few characters portrayed with a soul...yet still a company man...the scene with his dog, late night meetings and with Irons in the executive dining room
- Stanley Tucci as the Trading floors Head of Risk...getting let go at the
beginning of the film and on the stairs of his home later in the film
explaining his background
- Zach Quito...when he uses telekinesis to cut the top of Tuld's head off...oh wait sorry wrong show, I mean when he gives Bagley a Vulcan neck...oops wrong movie...Actually he was great in this...in the car with Bagley, when he explains his CV(resume...background...please note this is not Hollywood hype...it's actually more common then you would think) in the boardroom explaining the financial models
- Simon Baker as the 40 something Executive who is cold blooded and ruthless... in the elevator with Demi Moore and in the initial meeting to discuss the crisis
- Demi Moore I believe is the CRO... in the elevator with Baker and in the office with Tucci
There are two things that really hit me at the end of this movie. The first is with so many people from other fields (ie sciences, engineering) getting into finance for the far batter pay...what are we losing? What is not getting invented, developed, built, discovered, changed, improved, etc...We need more Steve Jobs...not guys running equations to just make more money. The second is after attending pop-international-gallery-bermanotomlinson-event where people from many different fields got together for charitable causes...is it all really about the money...isn't it about making the world a better place?
Now some final deep thoughts...first is the Financial Community is heavily involved in Charity work, more then most people think. So the "1%" are doing some good out there(it's the ruthless 1% of the 1% that cause all the trouble). The rub though is...things are the way they are because we all buy things we don't need and many buy things they cannot afford. Our economy is all based on debt and most of us contribute to it. So if you have a mortgage, credit card debt, live beyond your own means etc...don't be so fast to thrown stones in the glass house you help to create each and every day...
