Everyone endures bad days. They are inevitable. The only variables that fluctuate within this realm are frequency, magnitude and the culprit. A rudimentary paradigm: an adorable, overambitious 8th grader, the top pupil of his class, is handed back a subpar grade on a recent, all-important assessment. His less-intellectual pal flaunts the glowing “A” that he just received. The youngster is not used to threatening first-rate competition, so he convinces the instructor that his buddy cheated. The ”offender” is expelled, yadda yadda yadda. The informant received no compensation for his bullshit story, but amorally appeased himself.
In J.C. Chandor’s directorial debut, we are immersed in the corporate convolution of high business. It begs to dissect the ubiquitous question of ethics and morality within the occupational hazard zone. Set a few years back, just days before the 2007-2008 Credit Crunch sparked, we follow an overstaffed, massive investment bank. The opening scenes reveal the Darwinist concept of hyenas outliving the wildebeests, as over 80 percent of the firm is given the boot. An esteemed manager of the risk-management division (Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones) is unexpectedly let go, but, before exiting, hands an invaluable, prescient USB project to an erudite, up-and-comer (Zachary Quinto, Star Trek). After auditing and finishing the undertaking, he concludes that the firm’s trading will soon exceed the historic volatility levels on which the entire risk calculations are founded. In brief, they are screwed out of $8 trillion in assets unless they act, and fast. Unfortunately, principles may be compromised.
This turmoil is multifariously and cleanly told through a reputable crew of leading men. Seth (Penn Badgley, Easy A) is a junior trader with less of a concern for the whole economy and more for his personal salary. His brainier, whiz-kid friend Peter (Quinto) shows greater sympathy for the future of the money world. Will (Paul Bettany, A Beautiful Mind) serves as the underlings’ boss, and a fresh, comic translator to the intricate issues at the core of this genocidal problem. Finally, Sam (Kevin Spacey, American Beauty) is the head of sales whose 34 years with the company have inculcated a sense that callousness pervades the company’s decisions with zero regard for the true workers. In fact, Spacey (who earns 8x more than any floor trader) admits to Peter he works much less and less hard than Peter himself does… and he’s not proud of the system that dictates his every move.
Later (which is almost real-time screen vs. plot relationship 90 minutes subsequently), we are introduced to the big cheese CEO Will (played eloquently by Jeremy Irons) who briefly expresses concern before positing a simplistic metaphor to assess the situation: he equates the market to music and his job to predicting what the potential notes will be; he concedes he truly has no idea if the music is slowing or ceasing for good. His intrepid mentality births a 3-point system to succeeding in this world: 1) Be 1st 2) Be smarter or 3) Cheat. Ostensibly, he hints at the latter, which would, ultimately, injure the global markets for at least a year. After deciding to strictly sell assets without any new buying, Will calmly munches his superlative meal on the top floor and explains to Sam that more employees must go. He elucidates Sam’s “naïve” yet ethical take on their recent calls: “And there have always been and there always will be the same percentage of winners and losers. Happy foxes and sad sacks. Fat cats and starving dogs in this world.” Sam is disgusted but chooses to maintain his position simply because of “the money.”
A denouement is not pertinent in a film like this. This is not a normal movie with normal people, socioeconomically speaking. An exhibition of elite, mostly corrupt tycoons that show willingness to sabotage lives of millions to saver their own asses. Whether we’re talking about Occupy Wall Street, corporate bailouts, or their influence on politics, the common denominator is absent. Any misconduct on a grand scale merits serious attention as, in most cases, it will affect the greater people. Margin Call freshly delivers a dirty retelling of urbane yet unscrupulous authorities. The conniving surround us at all times, but what about the ones being connived against? Is there any hope?
