The Big Short

Who would have believed that a film about the devastating financial crisis of 2008 could have been made by Adam McKay, the director of Anchorman (with Will Farell) This surprising movie uses wit, humor and a marvelous cast (although the sight of Steve Carell sporting that awful fright wig takes some getting used to.) Christian Bale presents an Oscar-worthy performance as an autistic genius with a real head for figures. Steve Carell is great as a moral conscience (sort of) When things become a little ponderous, the reptilian Ryan Gosling breaks the fourth wall to talk directly to the audience and introduces someone like Margot Robbie sipping champagne in a bubble bath who holds forth with an explanation of some complicated financial instrument which is as clear as mud. (she ends her spiel saying: "Got that? Then F.O.!) I still don't get the differences between CDOs, default mortgage swaps and synthetic bundles! It's clear our main characters are not heroes, but I suppose they do no worse than someone finding a wallet (with no identification inside) crammed with cash and then keeping it. The system which trades in high level securities- unsurprisingly- is propelled by greed and opportunism. The movie ends on a note of anger because the government has failed to pass new regulatory laws and only one banker was sent to jail. So, the stage is set for yet another financial crash.