'The Big Short' (2015)

81/100

Sobering, often hilarious, and well-crafted exposé of greed

Adam McKay, who has carved out his own niche of broad Will Ferrell comedies like Anchorman, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys, subverts his image with a look at the Housing Bubble Crash of the mid- 2000s. With a stylised top-down look on the crisis as opposed to the bottom-up look employed by works like 99 Homes, The Big Short reunites Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling from Crazy Stupid Love alongside Christian Bale and producer Brad Pitt, leading an impressive ensemble of actors. 

This film is a must-see for everyone with even a minor interest in just what happened in 2007, along with the more doggedly realistic Margin Call. Intelligently juggling laugh-out-loud wit with poignant drama and a fascinating subject matter, this film's strength is its assured direction. McKay (channelling The Wolf of Wall Street) chooses to condense complex economic concepts such as sub-prime mortgages and synthetic CDOs into fourth wall-breaking asides, irreverent on-screen text, and cheeky attention-grabbing vignettes starring the likes of Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez. This technique effectively retains interest in a fascinating yet often impenetrable realistic story, with the dynamic camera-work and use of real-life footage spliced into the film rendering it incisively documentary-like. 

The characters are undoubtedly highlights. Despite recognising and correctly predicting the dangers facing the American housing market, and consequently the world economy, these men are, in Gosling's character's words, not the heroes. With grey morality and questionable decisions, the (mostly fictional) characters feel human, like real people might have been during this very time. Divided into three main interweaving story lines, Carell (building on his surprisingly effective dramatic work in Foxcatcher comes out as the most identifiable main protagonist. As a raging moral compass, he is desperate to retain his virtuous integrity in an increasingly amoral world, whilst his actions become increasingly reminiscent of the very bankers he hates. He and his team grudgingly join forces with the standout character, Ryan Gosling's fabulously despicable Jared Vennett. Playing like a toned down version of Leonardo DiCaprio's Jordan Belfort, Vennett is fast-talking, charismatic, and ultimately the very image of a banking crisis scapegoat. His witty narrative asides perfectly execute the fourth wall break in an enjoyably scene-stealing manner which punctuate the increasingly catastrophic story developments with bursts of dark comedy. 

Bale's story, meanwhile, takes place far from the others', making him feel sometimes surplus to requirements, yet he is astounding nonetheless as the man who kickstarts the financial scheming. Playing real-life analyst and Asperger's sufferer Michael Burry, with Asperger's, Bale combines perfectly executed tics of autism with a devoted commitment to doing his job properly. The final story is more traditional, detailing the attempts of two young businessmen (John Magaro and Finn Witrock) to join the big league of profiting from the impending crisis, with the help of retired, disillusioned banker Brad Pitt. The acting is superb across the board, with incredibly believable and human performances.

Albeit witty and mostly well-judged, the film's main problem is juggling its often disparate tones, and it appears at times that its two personalities are at odds with each other. On one hand, its subversive celebrity cameos effectively break up the jargon and add comedy, yet the movie's ultimate message of seething resentment is at odds with these. The dramatic and comedic elements could definitely have been combined more smoothly, and it suggests a little over-ambition on the part of the filmmakers. However, the ending makes up for the inconsistencies, a final piece of voice-over delivering a crushing depressive blow to the audience and some final biographic wrap-up text finishes things well. Despite its undeniable flaws, The Big Short remains a thoroughly important and generally very entertaining watch.

Wonderful acting anchors an enthralling story, while the utterly un-formulaic style of direction is for the most part a joy to watch. 81/100.