Plan B Productions really does their homework when they take on a social impact project. The screenplay for The Big Short is based on a Michael Lewis's book about actual people and events leading up to the market crash in 2007-2008, when banks gave home loans to people who did not have the means to pay them - adjustable loans, with affordable monthly rates to start, then two years or more later, jumping to a much higher rate. The film reveals the esoteric terms that the banks apply to such transactions partly to confound their customers.
Director Adam McKay and his team have created an eye-opening, fast-paced, emotional and often very funny film with characters based on real people. Quick visual snaps of characters reveal their background or personality. Fist bumps abound with some of the characters as they grasp at self-confidence. As several different characters exit a Las Vegas hotel one at a time, the type of transportation each uses provides great insight into who they are and where they are in the power pecking order. Then the cameral pulls away from the hotel and toward the freeway to a homeless encampment - the bottom of the “pile”. It is in fact the “misfits” of the socioeconomic structure who can stand back and see the truth in this saga. These are the people who have the insight to see the things no one else sees.
McKay and Charles Randolph wrote the script beautifully. McKay's background as head writer for Saturday Night Live provides many comedic touches. From the stars to the smallest roles, every character is memorable and important. Casting director Francine Maisler did an incredible job. Each actor has the timing to carry off this tragi-comic tale. I can't say enough about Ryan Gosling, Melissa Leo, Brad Pitt, Finn Whitrock, Marisa Tomei and Steve Carell. All of them deserve nominations. Steve Carell does a tour de force as a trader filled with guilt and angst, and a huge will to do the right thing.
The most fascinating character is Dr. Michael Burry, portrayed with uncanny skill by Christian Bale - a man who likes to describe himself as an outsider, who stands back from any group he's with and analyzes the group from afar. Bale met and studied Burry - says that he is “one of those people who never stops”, extremely family oriented, charming yet with a great vulnerability. Bale has embodied the physicality of this brilliant man who seems to think from his core.
Please see The Big Short! Let it open your eyes to the danger of blind belief. As Dr. Michael Burry himself said in his address at the UCLA Economics Commencement in 2012, “consider stepping outside your paradigm for a fresh look now and again.” Christian Bale noted in an interview that it would be great if this movie were “the straw that broke the camel's back” and brought about some serious changes in economic oversight.
Not rated, Run time: 130 Minutes, Released December 11th
Kathryn Whitney Boole was drawn into the entertainment industry as a kid and never left. It has been the backdrop for many awesome adventures with crazy creative people. She now works as a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kwboole@gmail.com
For previously published reviews see https://kwboole.wordpress.com/
