"The Big Short" - Review

Ignorant of the Bubble

Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Brad Pitt, and Christian Bale in The Big Short

How can such arrogance and ill will be so hilariously portrayed while still being just as maddening? This is a film that shows the depravity of peoples' greed and the blindness it creates in detriment to those less fortunate than the ones with the wealth and power that creates it and it is so entertaining. The Big Short is the most entertaining film that your college professor will inevitably show in you economics class. It is respectful of its audience that may not know the jargon involved in American economics, Wall Street, and the housing industry. It is gut-busting in the most intelligent way possible while still painting a clear picture of the seriousness of the topics it explores. If Spotlight was meant to be an expose on the things that define us as individuals, The Big Short is the expose on the things that define us as a society.

This is a loaded cast including Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Brad Pitt, and Christian Bale. There are also some rather brilliant cameos (of whom I will not spoil) that are used as teaching tools in the best of ways. Those tools are needed because this is a film about Wall Street. Specifically, this is a film about the collapse of the housing market in the 2000's and the "credit bubble" that caused it. You might be wondering how this would be a compelling film. I'm asking you to trust me when I say that this is one of the most entertaining films of the year and what is great about that is that you will also be walking out of the movie with a better understanding of why Americans live the way they do today.

The film follows several different characters, starting in the early 2000's, as they begin to discover and realize that the American economy is set up to collapse due to negligence by the big banks and their misuse of the housing market. They see that there is a smoke screen being put over the average American's eyes about a life that they think they are buying into that is about to ripped away. While there is nothing these people can do to stop it, they decide that they are going to profit off of this inevitable market collapse that no one else can see coming by performing a "big short", hence the title. Don't worry. The movie will explain to you what a "short" is, among other things that you may not know.

This may have that stellar cast that I mentioned before, but the real star of this film is director Adam McKay. If that name sounds familiar, then you must be a fan of his big budget comedies Anchorman and Talledega Nights. That's right. The guy who showed us what "a glass case of emotion!!!" looks like may be an Oscar nominee in a couple of months. McKay reportedly found the book that this film was based on and was so inspired by it that he knew he had to make a film that could present the message of the novel in a way that modern audiences can digest and understand it. He did an excellent job of that by giving the film a propulsive energy and edge that keeps your attention while throwing a ton of information at you. There is a lot to take in, but you'll be happy to do so.

The only real issue that I can pull from this film is the lack of diversity in its characters. They are all white men around the same age. They may come from different levels of wealth, but not exaggeratedly so. While this is a good representation of what the American Wall Street looks like, it does not always make for a compelling enough ensemble of characters. Who is there is well written and likable, but there is some perspective, notably on the lower class people the issues presented in this film effect, that could have had more time in the film to deliver more of a dramatic punch once that collapse comes. 

Regardless, this is one of the most surprising treats of the year. I did not see this one coming. It turned out to be one of the best experiences that I have had in the theater this year. This is edgy, exciting, and important film-making that does not forget that we want to be entertained at the movies. The Big Short has its cake and eats it too.

Grade: A-.