Margin Call

At its beginning, “Margin Call” reminded me of Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air,” a 2009 comedy-drama which starred George Clooney as a man whose job it is to visit different companies and tell certain employees that they have been laid off. As the film went on, it began to remind me of two more films; these were John Wells’ 2010 drama “The Company Men,” which followed three businessmen as they dealt with the fact that they’ve been laid off, and the David Mamet-written 1994 drama “Glengarry Glen Ross,” which saw several real estate salesmen being told that only the top two sellers of the group will remain with the company come the following week.

These three movies are good movies; actually, one of them is superb, another is splendid and one of them is, in my opinion, one of the very best films of the ‘90s. I’m usually of the opinion that reminding a viewer of a very good movie is a ballsy move for a film to do, be it deliberate or accidental, as the viewer could end up wishing they were watching the very good movie instead. It’s a testament to how successful “Margin Call” is then that it more than holds its own when these daunting comparisons arise and also manages to find its own unique identity alongside these very good movies.

As you can probably guess from these comparisons, “Margin Call” is a film about men in suits. It is also a film about finance, probably the most boring topic in the world; well, next to mathematics. The film takes place in a large investment bank, which goes unnamed, at the beginning of the 2008 economic meltdown. We are presented with an ensemble cast, only one of whom is a lady, who all play employees and employers of this big corporation.

Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”), a senior risk analyst, is laid off by human resources along with 80% of his trading floor. As he leaves the building with his big box of things, he hands junior risk analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto, “Star Trek”) a USB drive and tells him to take a look at what he has recently been working on. “Be careful,” he says ominously as the elevator doors close.

So, late that night, when the survivors of his floor are away celebrating, Peter takes a look at what’s on the USB drive. He completes Eric’s work and is a little shocked by what he finds: basically, the numbers on his screen show that the company is about to fall flat on its jewel-encrusted face. Peter gets co-workers Seth Bregman (Penn Badgley, “Easy A”) and Will Emmerson (Paul Bettany, “Priest”) to come over, who in turn get head of sales Sam Rogers (Kevin Spacey, “Horrible Bosses”) to take a look.

They check the numbers along with head of risk Sarah Robertson (Demi Moore, “Bobby”) and head of securities Jared Cohen (Simon Baker, “The Mentalist”), and unfortunately find that the numbers are solid. By about 3:00am, an emergency meeting is called and in flies CEO John Tuld (Jeremy Irons, “Appaloosa”) in a big fancy helicopter with his associates. Together, the employees and employers of the company attempt to fix their soon-to-be-broken corporation before word gets out that, in layman’s terms, they’re completely screwed.

I’ve seen “Margin Call” being described by some as a thriller, which I’m not particularly comfortable with. The word “thriller” instantly gives the impression of something that is filled with excitement and suspense, and is usually tied to films that would be classified as “edge-of-your-seat entertainment.” “Margin Call” is not this and was not, I believe, intended to be like this; it is a dialogue-driven drama that is incredibly riveting and often quite intense, but not classically “thrilling” as the word would have you believe.

The film’s script is written with much intelligence and attention to character by J.C. Chandor. It is a script that gives us engaging characters and entertaining dialogue that, given what the characters regularly converse about, is mercifully easy to understand. It also manages to make the film accessible, an apparent impossibility in a film revolving around the impenetrable complications of the financial world; we may not comprehend every word that is uttered, but Chandor's writing succeeds in making the film tremendously compelling.

I don’t know if you noticed, but the film’s cast is utterly magnificent. Unsurprisingly, “Margin Call” is wonderfully acted, and is done so by actors of both an older generation and a younger generation. The older generation is represented by the endlessly talented Spacey and Irons, who play two big-name men in fierce opposition to each other. And the younger generation is represented by the likes of up-and-comer Quinto as a number-whiz ex-rocket scientist and a career-high Bettany as a money-minded rogue (in a good way), although Bettany’s American accent wanders more than Dion did in the ‘60s.

“Margin Call” is J.C. Chandor’s debut as both a writer and a director; it’s easily one of the most impressive feature-film debuts I’ve seen in some time. Chandor writes with the ease and finesse of a true professional, and directs with an eye for natural beauty. I trust we shall see many good things from this man in the future, so I’d say keep an eye on Mr Chandor.

8/10