Margin Call (film)

Margin Call

Theatrical release poster
Directed by J. C. Chandor
Produced by Joe Jenckes
Robert Ogden Barnum
Corey Moosa
Michael Benaroya
Neal Dodson
Zachary Quinto
Written by J. C. Chandor
Starring Kevin Spacey
Paul Bettany
Jeremy Irons
Zachary Quinto
Penn Badgley
Simon Baker
Mary McDonnell
Demi Moore
Stanley Tucci
Music by Nathan Larson
Cinematography Frank DeMarco
Edited by Pete Beaudreau
Production
company
Before the Door Pictures
Washington Square Films
Untitled Entertainment
Sakonnet Capital Partners
Distributed by Lionsgate
Roadside Attractions
Benaroya Pictures
Release dates
  • January 25, 2011 (2011-01-25) (Sundance Film Festival)
  • October 21, 2011 (2011-10-21) (United States)
Running time
 109 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $3.5 million[1]
Box office $19.5 million[1]

Margin Call is a 2011 American independent drama film written and directed by J. C. Chandor. The story takes place over a 36-hour period at a large Wall Street investment bank and highlights the initial stages of the financial crisis of 2007–08.[2][3] In focus are the actions taken by a group of employees during the subsequent financial collapse.[4] The ensemble cast features Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Demi Moore, and Stanley Tucci.

The film was a co-production between the motion picture studios of Before the Door Pictures, Benaroya Pictures, Washington Square Films, Margin Call Productions, Sakonnet Capital Partners, and Untitled Entertainment. Theatrically, it was commercially distributed by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions. Margin Call explores capitalism, greed and investment fraud.[5] Following its wide release in theaters, the film garnered award nominations for its production merits from the Detroit Film Critics Society, along with several separate nominations for its screenplay and direction from recognized award organizations, including the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The score was orchestrated by musician Nathan Larson.

The film made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2011 and opened in theaters nationwide in the United States on October 21, 2011, grossing $5,354,039 in domestic ticket receipts. It was screened at 199 theaters during its widest release in cinemas. It earned an additional $14,150,000 in business through international release to top out at a combined $19,504,039 in gross revenue. Preceding its initial screening to the public, Margin Call was generally met with positive critical reviews. The DVD and Blu-ray editions of the film were released in the United States on December 20, 2011.


Plot

An unnamed Wall Street firm begins an unannounced mass layoff on the trading floor during a normal business day. Among those let go is Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci), head of risk management. Dale attempts to contact his former employer to look into his most recent and unfinished project, but an uninterested human resources staff tells him to leave immediately. While boarding the elevator he meets one of his underlings, junior risk analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto), and gives him a USB stick to look at with vague instructions to “be careful.”

An intrigued Sullivan works late that night to finish Dale’s project, and discovers that current volatility in the firm's portfolio of mortgage-backed securities will soon exceed the historical volatility levels of the positions. Because of excessive leverage, if the firm's assets decrease by 25% in value, the firm will suffer a loss greater than its market capitalization. He also discovers that, given the normal length of time that the firm holds such securities, this loss must occur. Sullivan calls fellow junior analyst Seth Bregman (Penn Badgley) and asks him to find their desk head Will Emerson (Paul Bettany) and bring him back to the office immediately. Emerson looks over the data and alerts floor head Sam Rogers (Kevin Spacey), who also returns to the office. They attempt to contact Dale, but his company phone has been shut off and he hasn’t returned home yet.

These now key employees remain at the firm for a series of meetings throughout the night with progressively more senior executives, including division head Jared Cohen (Simon Baker), chief risk management officer Sarah Robertson (Demi Moore), and finally CEO John Tuld (Jeremy Irons). Cohen's plan is for the firm to quickly sell all of the toxic assets before the market learns of their worthlessness, thereby limiting the firm's exposure, a course favored by Tuld over Rogers's strong objection. Rogers warns Cohen and Tuld that dumping the firm's toxic assets will spread the risk throughout the financial sector and will destroy the firm's relationships with its counterparties. He also warns Cohen that their customers will quickly learn of the firm's plans, once they realize that the firm is only selling the toxic securities.

They finally locate Dale and bring him back in to the office. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Robertson, Cohen, and Tuld were aware of the risks in the weeks leading up to the crisis. Tuld plans to offer Robertson's resignation to the board and employees as a scapegoat. Both Dale and Robertson are instructed to remain in the office all day and do nothing with the promise of handsome compensation in return. Robertson expresses regret for knowing about the risk and not objecting loudly enough.

Before the markets open that morning, Rogers tells his traders they will receive seven-figure bonuses if they achieve a 93% reduction in certain MBS asset classes. He admits that the traders are effectively ending their careers by destroying their relationships with their clients. The firm successfully pulls off the fire sale despite growing suspicion from the buyers, and the firm takes tremendous losses while dumping positions for cents on the dollar. After trading hours end, Rogers watches the same human resources team begin another round of layoffs on his floor. He confronts Tuld in the executive dining area and asks to resign, but Tuld dismisses his protests, claiming that the current crisis is really no different from various crashes and bear markets of the past, and that sharp gains and losses are simply part of the economic cycle. He persuades Rogers to stay at the firm for another two years, promising that there will be a lot of money to be made from the coming crisis. Tuld also informs Rogers he will promote Sullivan.

In a final scene, Rogers buries his dead dog in his ex-wife’s front yard in the middle of the night, and learns from her that their son’s financial firm took a big hit but survived the day’s trading.

Cast

Actor Kevin Spacey portrayed Sam Rogers.

Production

Filming

Principal photography began on June 21, 2010, in New York City.[2] More than 80 percent of the action was shot on the 42nd floor of One Penn Plaza, which had recently been vacated by a trading firm.[6][7] The film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The film also played In Competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Bear.[8][9] The film was produced by Zachary Quinto's production company, Before The Door Pictures, by Quinto and his two producing partners and Carnegie Mellon University classmates, Neal Dodson and Corey Moosa.[10]

Reception

Critical response

The film received positive reviews from critics, garnering an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus: "Smart, tightly wound, and solidly acted, Margin Call turns the convoluted financial meltdown of '08 into gripping, thought-provoking drama."[11] The New Yorker film critic David Denby said it was "easily the best Wall Street movie ever made".[12] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and half stars out of four, and said: "Margin Call employs an excellent cast who can make financial talk into compelling dialogue."[13] A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote: "It is hard to believe that Margin Call is Mr. Chandor’s first feature. His formal command — his ability to imply far more than he shows or says and to orchestrate a large, complex drama out of whispers, glances and snippets of jargon — is downright awe inspiring."[14]

Themes

Roger Ebert wrote: "I think the 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 is what the Occupy Wall Street protesters are angry about: They are not against capitalism, but about Wall Street dishonesty and greed. [...] [The cast] reflect the enormity of what is happening: Their company and their lives are being rendered meaningless."[13] A.O. Scott wrote: " Margin Call is a thriller, moving through ambient shadows to the anxious tempo of Nathan Larson’s hushed, anxious score. It is also a horror movie, with disaster lurking like an unseen demon outside the skyscraper windows and behind the computer screens. It is also a workplace comedy of sorts. The crackling, syncopated dialogue and the plot, full of reversals and double crosses, owe an obvious debt to David Mamet’s profane fables of deal-making machismo. Hovering over all of it is the dark romance of capital: the elegance of numbers; the kinkiness of money; the deep, rotten, erotic allure of power."[14]

Although the film does not depict any real Wall Street firm, and the fictional firm is never named, the plot has similarities to some events during the 2008 financial crisis: Goldman Sachs similarly moved early to hedge and reduce its position in mortgage-backed securities, at the urging of two employees,[15] which essentially mirrors Tuld's comment about the advantage of moving first. Lehman Brothers moved second and went bankrupt. John Tuld's surname rhymes with that of the CEO of Lehman Brothers at the time of the 2008 financial crisis, Richard Fuld. Also, on September 21, 2008, Goldman Sachs became a traditional bank holding company and left investment banking. This would have made sense for the fictional bank in the film, as in the character's own words, their customers would never buy from them again.[16]

Accolades

Awards Group Category Recipient Result
84th Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay J. C. Chandor Nominated
Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA)[17] Best Film – International J. C. Chandor Nominated
Best Direction – International J. C. Chandor Nominated
Best Screenplay – International J. C. Chandor Won
Casting Society of America[18] Outstanding Achievement in Casting for a Studio or Independent Drama Feature Bernard Telsey, Tiffany Little Canfield Nominated
Detroit Film Critics Society[19] Best Ensemble Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards Best First Feature Won
Best First Screenplay Nominated
Robert Altman Award Won
National Board of Review Awards[20] Spotlight Award for Best Directorial Debut J. C. Chandor Won
Top 10 Independent Films Nominated
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards[21] Best Original Screenplay J. C. Chandor Won
New York Film Critics Circle Awards[22] Best First Film J. C. Chandor Won

See also

References

Footnotes
  1. 1 2 "Margin Call". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  2. 1 2 Dash, Eric (June 22, 2010). "Citi Goes Hollywood for Spacey and Crew". The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
  3. ↑ Fleming, Mike (September 13, 2010). "Margin Call Director J.C. Chandor Snags Big Warner Bros Writing Gig From DiCaprio". Deadline New York. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  4. ↑ Kit, Borys (June 15, 2010). "Simon Baker, Paul Bettany eye indie drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
  5. ↑ Kyle Bryan (Director). (2011). Margin Call [Motion picture]. United States: Lionsgate.
  6. ↑ Wallace, Benjamin (October 16, 2011). "What's Up, Spock?: He might be a famous Vulcan, but Zachary Quinto has no problem being fully human". New York Magazine.
  7. ↑ Chesto, Jon. "Director of "Margin Call" didn't need a big budget to depict Wall Street's mortgage meltdown". WickedLocal.com.
  8. ↑ "The Competition of the 61st Berlinale". Berlinale. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Spacey, Moore and 3D in focus at Berlin film fest". Yahoo News. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Before The Door". beforethedoor.com. 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Rotten Tomatoes".
  12. ↑ "All That Glitters". The New Yorker.
  13. 1 2 Ebert, Roger (October 19, 2011). "Margin Call". rogerebert.com. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  14. 1 2 Scott, A. O. (21 October 2011). "Margin Call with Zachary Quinto Review". The New York Times. (subscription required (help)).
  15. ↑ Alloway, Tracey (December 10, 2010). "Goldman's uneasy subprime short". The Financial Times. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  16. ↑ Goldman, Morgan Stanley Bring Down Curtain on an Era, bloomberg, September 22, 2008
  17. ↑ "AACTA Awards winners and nominees" (PDF). Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). 31 January 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  18. ↑ "Casting Society of America Announces Artios Awards Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. August 20, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Detroit Film Critics". detroitfilmcritics.com. 2012. Archived from the original on February 23, 2010.
  20. ↑ Corliss, Richard (December 1, 2011). "Year-End Awards: National Board of Review Says 'We Go with Hugo'". TIME. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  21. ↑ Pond, Steve (December 11, 2011). "San Francisco film critics pick "Tree of Life"". The Wrap. Reuters. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  22. ↑ ""The Artist" Leads New York Film Critics' Circle Awards". November 29, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
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