Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Margin Call (2011) (Patreon)

Published:
2025-04-21 22:31:23
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:
haven't archived this post yet. have a subscription? use the importer!

Content

Paul Bettany, Zachary Quinto, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, Simon Baker, Penn Badgley, Kevin Spacey

Files

Previews only

MarginCall

Comments

Nick Stark

Oh wow. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else react to this film. I know what I’m watching tonight.

Actuarial Lurker

I found out Jeremy Irons is Catholic by accident. Pre-pandemic when I would still drive into Manhattan for either Sunday Mass or Saturday Evening Mass to avoid the crowds I would see him in the pews up front along with some random Kennedys (not the guy who eats bears and whales) and occasionally Mark Shields from PBS' Shields and Brooks....

Actuarial Lurker

Those aren't audits but emergency meetings of the Risk Committee and then escalation to members of the Board of Directors to 1- dump everything, 2- pay people bonuses for dumping it all, 3- fire everyone after the fact, 4- do so before others catch on

Chris

I love this film because I think it really showcases the systemic nature of the problem. I can actually get my head around the decisions they make in the movie without seeing them as being TOO immoral--at this point the assets are all overvalued and there's no way around that. Carnage is coming one way or another, so them kicking it off probably doesn't really matter--is it better or worse that Merrill takes the hit instead of Goldman? The problem is everything that LED UP to this night. And even there, it's like Demi Moore says, at the time, it doesn't feel like there's much of a choice. The implication being that's because if you try to be the one to end the party prematurely... that's not gonna go well for you. I think Jeremy Irons's speech about how they can't help themselves is on point. I'm inclined to think that's probably the reality, so we better find a way to solve the problem with regulations--cause like a tiger is gonna go tiger, a banker is gonna go banker. Final point--I think it's very intentional that Quinto was a rocket scientist and Tucci was an engineer. Tucci's speech, juxtaposed to Bettany's speech to Penn Badgely in the car, is the crux of the movie--these guys are supposed to be the best and the brightest, so how the f*** did we end up in a system where the highest value of that talent is to put a thumb on the scale of the financial system, and not build rockets and bridges.

Nick Stark

I bought a waterfront condo on one of these mortgage loans back in 2003. Just before my 5/1 ARM came to an end I sold it. The financial collapse this movie refers to happened during closing. I was one of the lucky ones. Here’s the thing. I was only able to qualify to purchase that condo because of the ARM. I overextended myself and was living beyond my means. Although I agree these financial firms are greedy and corrupt, I also have to admit my own guilt. It’s so important not to go into debt. To live within your means.

TalynOne

You've seen The Big Short, which gives the perspective from the shorters, and Margin Call which gives it from the stock firms. I highly recommend giving the following a watch. This is a highly entertaining documentary from the governmental perspective. Some of the stores are wild. It's told with first hand interviews with the people directly involved. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QozGSS7QY_U

Clare Manion

What a well-done movie, and agreed, a great companion piece to The Big Short. Really appreciated the comments on morality (or lack there of) as well -- especially the Jeremy Irons character. I kind of wanted to throw up after his speech towards the end... But I mean that in the most complimentary way possible, he's a phenomenal actor! Music note: the piece Spacey is listening to when he almost falls asleep at his desk is Chopin's Prelude Op. 28, No. 15. It starts very gently, then builds up to the more forceful bit we hear in the movie - like a bad storm rolling in. A great choice for the moment!

Chris H.

I've always thought that the firm here is loosely based on Goldman-Sachs. They had pretty heavy MBS exposure at one point, but did manage to dump a large portion of it in the winter and spring of 2008. The one tiny ding on this otherwise excellent movie is that it hints again and again that the actions of this firm will somehow the cause of the oncoming crash. What Chris in his excellent post below this alludes to is spot-on, though: the damage is already done by the point the movie starts. The *very existence* of these hugely leveraged MBS positions built on a foundation of crappy mortgages was the issue. And by the time the firm here is liquidating their position, the damage to all us normies is already done. They're not dumping it on "mom", despite what Spacey's character says. They're just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic of everyone's 401k by dumping their garbage off to Deutschebank, Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Bros, UBS, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, etc. etc. Whether this firm (maybe GS?) sells off their position or not, the eventuality of the market crash, firms crumbling, jobs being lost, pension funds and 401ks getting wiped out, and everyday taxpayers like us forced to bail it all out....that was gonna happen no matter what anyone depicted in this movie did, sadly.

Roland

Demi Moore has a small part in this, and she's overshadowed by some stellar performances, but I'm always glad to see her in stuff.

Jonathan

Too Big to Fail is still my favorite of the financial crisis movies and I believe it was the first. I remember this coming out right after that and have wanted to watch it but hadn’t till tonight. It is pretty sad that this poker game that Wall Street seems to be is what so many people have to rely on to take what they have been able to save to be able to make it through retirement. I agree with the people below the real problem was the creation of these MBS and how the fallout was handled not people trying to not be holding the bomb when it blew.

Youtalkingtome
>>171692916

I love this take. They are very bright but several people in this film who were in charge needed it explained. The Engineer and the rocket scientist figured this one out right away