Music, Style & Culture

Margin Call

Terrific all-star financial drama that's more Glengarry Glen Ross than Wall Street.

Released in cinemas 13th January 2012.

A Sundance hit, Margin Call comes to the UK as a fairly low key release. However, consider the fact that the likes of Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons and Stanley Tucci threw their hat in for the independent debut of filmmaker J.C. Chandor.

Margin Call is a sharp wordy drama about the beginnings of the recent financial crisis that feels more like a thriller. Set over a 36-hour period at a fictional Wall Street investment firm (reminiscent of the Lehman Brothers), it begins with Tucci's risk management boss Eric being let go. As he leaves in despair, he hands a USB drive to a junior risk analyst Peter (Zachary Quinto, also making his producing debut), warning him to "be careful" over its unfinished contents.

While his remaining colleagues celebrate their relief at not being laid off, Peter finishes Eric's analysis, making a discovery that will eventually lead every key member of the company to reconvene overnight for a number of stressful meetings. So solid is Chandor's screenplay, if you don't have a financial bone in your body it's easy to follow the mood of the characters. There's no dumbing down of terminology (bar some handy exposition from Spacey's head of sales, who doesn't understand all the lingo the risk analysts use), and the threat to the financial world slowly becomes clear. With the revelations out the way early on, the film shines as a character-driven drama, as decisions are made, and consciences are wracked.

Chandor directs with supreme confidence, coaxing naturistic performances from his stellar cast. Spacey hasn't been this exciting on film in years, as the businessman with a very human side - he's actually playing against type. Demi Moore has a small but effective role as the head of risk - her's and Spacey's roles serve to remind us that bankers are people too. There's a pleasing lack of caricature and cliché in Chandor's film, and as such, this unpredictability makes it even more gripping.

Jeremy Irons doesn't exactly chew the scenery but slightly nibbles it as the fearsome C.E.O. who's helicoptered in to lay bare the company's strategy in a 2am boardroom meeting. So often the top dogs are displayed as privileged buffoons, but Irons displays his character's innate sense of strategy in some blistering script highlights. Elsewhere, Paul Bettany shines as a figurative spectral figure and harbinger of doom, always ready with home truths. Quinto's gifted analyst is one of the most fully-fleshed of the ensemble, and it's a quiet, intelligent performance. His fledgling sidekick is Penn Badgley, who more often tags along for the ride, but offers insight into the mind of a young man in the industry.

It's a terrific debut, full of panache. Filmed in a natural, cinematic way, it's atmospheric and involving without resorting to shakycam. Neither is Margin Call stagey, despite its wordiness; largely filmed within the confines of the offices, when the film slips outside, the Manhattan sky feels like a release. It's high praise, but Margin Call is more Glengarry Glen Ross than Wall Street (although it lacks Mamet's biting observation).

A star cast giving subtle, vanity-free performances in one room makes Margin Call already worth anticipating, but add the taut direction and sensitive yet ominous script and you have a surprise treat.

Rating: 8/10