The Big Short — Blue Fairy Film Blog

Based on the Michael Lewis bestseller The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, the story concerns the fraudulent system that led to the 2008 financial crisis, and portrays all those involved in a humorous and expository way. The first one to understand this bubble was Dr. Michael Burry MD who shorted the housing market when he realized the crisis was eminent. He made his company millions of dollars, but also benefitted from the downfall of the American economy and the degradation of the nation in general. Others, learning of Burry’s findings, also tried to cash in on the possibility of a crisis and made millions. This is the true to life story of these people’s efforts to make money off of the loss of money.

The framing device of the film is voice-over narration from Ryan Gosling’s character, Jared Vennett, a douchebag finance guy from Deutsch Bank who goes in with several other characters to short the housing market. His main role is to make us understand the complexities of the financial markets and basically make us furious at his exploitation of it. Vennett goes in with a small hedge fund run by Mark Baum (Steve Carrell) after Burry’s (Bale) findings come to light. Other important figures in the story include a small-time hedge fund operated by two guys (Magaro and Whittrock) who are helped by their old banker friend (Pitt), a couple of Floridian mortage brokers (Greenfield and Magnusson), a Federal Reserve employee (Gillan), and Burry. Most of the film revolves around them realizing the market is fraudulent, and that no one can possibly win out in this situation. Rafe Spall, Hamish Linklater, and Jeremy Strong give great supporting performances as the other members of Baum’s team, providing the voices of reason among the turmoil.

The casting in this film is some of the best I’ve seen this year. Carrell has been taking on better and better roles since leaving “The Office,” and this film is no different. His character has a penchant for outrage, especially morally, and Carrell brings that to the surface while also juggling the emotional trauma of a huge loss, and an extreme use of language. Brad Pitt shows up to give a stoic performance, yielding to the prevailing theory that he is this generation’s Robert Redford. Bale is enigmatic and energizing as Burry, though he isn’t onscreen for very long.

Overall this is a really funny and yet devastating film. The framing device of the narration also gives into asides, explanations, and cameos from stars who explain the market to people who don’t understand how 2008 took place, or the repercussions of the bankers’ fraud. In the beginning you’re almost rooting for the people who will make money off of this crisis, watching them prove everyone wrong with their adept understanding of the housing market and the level of inconsistency in the world of finance. By the end you and the characters realize who broken and otherworldly the crisis is in America, for the world markets in general. Pitt gives a great talk to his protégés by explaining that they shouldn’t be excited, or be celebrating the downfall of the American economy, though they will make hundreds of millions off of the shorting. Burry understands the horrible outcome better than anybody, leaving the world he excelled in so amazingly by the end. If you weren’t already affected by the financial crisis, or were too young to understand it at the time, this serves as a gruesome yet truthful film about the event. It’s also a useful tool for those who want to understand just how corrupt and degraded the system has gotten, and will remain until it is reformed.