The Big Short Review

Starring: Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Finn Wittrock, Marisa Tomei

The Big Short is an extremely clever movie. It's about the financial collapse of the world in 2007-2008, focusing on a few people who saw it coming in America. Now, this isn't the kind of subject that normally holds my attention. I'm not an expert at banking, nor do I really understand finances at this level. This should make the movie boring for me, but it didn't. I actually walked away from The Big Short in awe of what I saw. This is a movie that made banking fun, without detracting from the substance of the subject at hand. It's still a very important movie with a somber tone, even if it is a comedy. It has one of the best, if not the best, ensemble casts I've seen this year. I don't think one performance was out of place or detracted from the film. Steve Carell and Christian Bale obviously shine, but the performances work greatly together. It's such a strange movie, that I almost still can't believe worked as well as it did. It made me actually understand the housing market, so I'd say that's a step in the right direction.

There's a certain cheekiness in The Big Short. It's narrated by Ryan Gosling's character, who talks straight to the audience, and sometimes breaks the fourth wall to address the camera. Ryan Gosling who is well-known for playing some very pretentious characters, is a jerk again here, but a likable one. When he's narrating about some confusing concept, my brain turned to mush pretty quickly. Then he says, "And to explain synthetic CDO's to you, is financial theorist Dr. Richard Thaler, and pop star Selena Gomez." And Selena Gomez explains synthetic CDOs to the camera with gambling cards. It's flat-out brilliant. The film also has a creative use of Ludacris' "Money Maker" in a musical interlude. The whole concept is incredibly well-done. It makes a confusing topic relatable. It's funny, but it doesn't poke fun at its subject matter. The financial crisis is a very serious topic, and it ruined many people's lives. It doesn't shy away from showing you corporate greed, or how it affected some citizens (in the movie's timeline, and only in America of course).

Steve Carell continues to impress me as an actor. After his deservedly nominated performance in Foxcatcher this year, he delivers another amazing turn. He's so different from the Steve Carell we're all used to from The Office and stupid comedies. His facial acting is incredible, and you can see the pain in his character. He plays a cynic who, after the death of his brother, believes the whole system is a fraud. When he catches wind of these empty loans in the housing market, he's off to try and warn as many people as possible. What's great with the actors, is that there really is three stories. There's Carell and his team on Wall Street. There's Christian Bale, a hedge fund manager with an M.D, who first discovers the faulty system, and Brad Pitt and his two young investors, who also become involved, albeit at a distance. All of them are connected by Gosling's character, who is a slimy trader. Bale's plot is more separate. His performance as Dr. Michael Burry is fantastic. Bale is one of my favorite actors, and he is one of the most consistent performers working today. He's a (likely autistic) eccentric hedge fund manager who sees a problem. He doesn't do what Carell does and try to fix it. He doesn't really know how to communicate. He just tries to warn everyone, and give them a wake up call, even if his methods are strange.

If you're into low-concept comedies, this movie probably isn't your cup of tea. If you're looking for awards contenders, The Big Short has to be on your list. A couple months ago I would have never guessed an Adam McKay (director of Anchorman and Step Brothers) film could compete at the Academy Awards. Now it looks like it's a frontrunner. Go see The Big Short. It's an important movie.

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