| Inside Job | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Charles Ferguson |
| Written by | Charles Ferguson Chad Beck Adam Bolt |
| Produced by | Audrey Marrs Charles Ferguson |
| Narrated by | Matt Damon |
| Cinematography | Svetlana Cvetko Kalyanee Mam |
| Edited by | Chad Beck Adam Bolt |
| Music by | Alex Heffes |
Production companies | Representational Pictures Screen Pass Pictures |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics |
Release dates |
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Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2 million[1] |
| Box office | $7.9 million[2] |
Inside Job is a 2010 Americandocumentary film, directed byCharles Ferguson, about the2008 financial crisis. Ferguson, who began researching in 2008,[3] said the film is about "the systemic corruption of the United States by thefinancial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption",[4] amongst them conflicts of interest of academic research, which led to improved disclosure standards by theAmerican Economic Association.[5] In five parts, the film explores how changes in the policy environment and banking practices led to the2008 financial crisis.
The film was acclaimed by film critics, who praised its pacing, research, and exposition of complex material. It was screened at the2010 Cannes Film Festival in May 2010 and, on February 27, 2011, wonBest Documentary Feature at the83rd Academy Awards.
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The film begins by examining the effects of the government ofIceland's shift towardderegulation in 2000, which included theprivatization of its banks. WhenLehman Brothers went bankrupt andAIG collapsed, Iceland and the rest of the world went into a global recession.
The American financial industry was regulated from 1941 to 1981, followed by a long period of deregulation. At the end of the 1980s, asavings and loan crisis cost taxpayers approximately $124 billion. In the late 1990s, the financial sector had consolidated into a few giant firms. In March 2000, theInternet Stock Bubble burst because investment banks promoted Internet companies they knew would fail, resulting in $5 trillion in investor losses. In the 1990s,derivatives became popular in the industry and added instability. Efforts to regulate derivatives were thwarted by theCommodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, backed by several key officials. In the 2000s, the industry was dominated by five investment banks (Goldman Sachs,Morgan Stanley,Lehman Brothers,Merrill Lynch, andBear Stearns), two financial conglomerates (Citigroup,JPMorgan Chase), threesecuritized insurance companies (AIG,MBIA,AMBAC) andthe three rating agencies (Moody's,Standard & Poor's,Fitch). Investment banks bundled mortgages with other loans and debts intocollateralized debt obligations (CDOs), which they sold to investors. Rating agencies gave many CDOsAAA ratings.Subprime loans led topredatory lending. Many home owners were given loans they could never repay.
During the housing boom, the ratio of money borrowed by investment banks versus the banks' own assets reached unprecedented levels. Speculators could buycredit default swaps (CDSs), which were akin to an insurance policy, to bet against CDOs they did not own. Numerous CDOs were backed by subprime mortgages. Goldman-Sachs sold more than $3 billion worth of CDOs in the first half of 2006. Goldman also bet against the low-value CDOs, telling investors they were high-quality. The three biggest ratings agencies contributed to the problem, with AAA-rated instruments rocketing from a mere handful in 2000 to over 4,000 in 2006. There were some warnings about the growing risks in the financial system, including fromRaghuram Rajan, then the chief economist of theIMF, who, at theFederal Reserve's 2005Jackson Hole conference, identified some risks and proposed policies to address them, though formerU.S. Treasury SecretaryLawrence Summers called his warnings "misguided" and Rajan himself a "luddite".
The market for CDOs collapsed and investment banks were left with hundreds of billions of dollars in loans, CDOs, and real estate they could not unload. TheGreat Recession began in November 2007, and in March 2008, Bear Stearns ran out of cash. In September, the federal government took overFannie Mae andFreddie Mac, which had been on the brink of collapse. Two days later, Lehman Brothers collapsed. These entities all had AA or AAA ratings within days of being bailed out. Merrill Lynch, on the edge of collapse, was acquired byBank of America.Henry Paulson andTimothy Geithner decided that Lehman must go into bankruptcy, which resulted in a collapse of thecommercial paper market. On September 17, the insolvent AIG was taken over by the government. The next day, Paulson and Fed chairmanBen Bernanke asked Congress for $700 billion to bail out the banks. Theglobal financial system became paralyzed. On October 3, 2008, PresidentGeorge W. Bush signed theTroubled Asset Relief Program, but global stock markets continued to fall. Layoffs and foreclosures continued with unemployment rising to 10% in the US and theEuropean Union. By December 2008,GM andChrysler also faced bankruptcy. Foreclosures in the U.S. reached unprecedented levels.
Top executives of the insolvent companies walked away with their personal fortunes intact and avoided prosecution. The executives had hand-picked theirboards of directors, which handed out billions in bonuses after the government bailout. The major banks grew in power and doubled anti-reform efforts. Many academic economists who had advocated for deregulation for decades and helped shape U.S. policy still opposed reform following the2008 financial crisis. Firms involved were theAnalysis Group,Charles River Associates,Compass Lexecon, and the Law and Economics Consulting Group (LECG). Many of these economists were paid consultants to companies and other groups involved in the financial crisis, conflicts of interest that were often not disclosed in their research papers.[6]
Tens of thousands of U.S. factory workers were laid off. The incomingObama administration's financial reforms were weak, and there was no significant proposed regulation of the practices of ratings agencies, lobbyists, or executive compensation. Geithner became Treasury Secretary.Martin Feldstein,Laura Tyson, andLawrence Summers were all top economic advisers to Obama. Bernanke was reappointedChair of the Federal Reserve. European nations imposed strict regulations on bank compensation, but the U.S. resisted them.
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The film was met with critical acclaim. Onreview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 98% based on 148 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "Disheartening but essential viewing, Charles Ferguson's documentary explores the 2008 Global Financial Crisis with exemplary rigor."[7] OnMetacritic, the film has aweighted average score of 88 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "universal acclaim",[8] and, in 2011, Jason Dietz of Metacritic ranked the film as the best film yet made about the "ongoing financial crisis".[9]
Roger Ebert described the film as "an angry, well-argued documentary about how the American housing industry set out deliberately to defraud the ordinary American investor".[10]A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times wrote that "Mr. Ferguson has summoned the scourging moral force of a pulpit-shaking sermon. That he delivers it with rigor, restraint and good humor makes his case all the more devastating".[11] Logan Hill ofNew York magazine characterized the film as a "rip-snorting, indignant documentary", noting the "effective presence" of narratorMatt Damon.[12] Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian said it was "as gripping as any thriller", and also noted the influence ofMichael Moore on the film, which he described as "a Moore film with the gags and stunts removed".[13] Duane Byrge of theHollywood Reporter said it deserved a "triple-A rating," writing: "'Inside Job' is no talking-heads drone. It's a lively, droll and acidic shakedown of the insiders who perpetrated this crisis."[14] Kenneth Turan of theLos Angeles Times hailed the documentary as a "powerhouse" that presents its complex subject matter with "cinematic verve."[15]
The film was selected for a special screening at the2010 Cannes Film Festival. A reviewer writing from Cannes characterized it as "a complex story told exceedingly well and with a great deal of unalloyed anger".[16]
In 2010, economistGene Epstein, writing forBarron's, criticized the documentary for presenting an incomplete and biased view of the 2008 financial crisis. While acknowledging elements of truth in the narrative about Wall Street greed, Epstein argued that it failed to adequately explore the proactive role of government policy in the crisis, particularly the influence ofFannie Mae andFreddie Mac.[17]
Shawn Levy ofThe Oregonian rated the film B−, writing: "Whether the film's anatomy and analysis of the crash are accurate, they haven't been rendered in a way that's genuinely worth paying contemporary movie ticket prices to learn about it."[18]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards[19] | February 27, 2011 | Best Documentary Feature | Charles H. Ferguson andAudrey Marrs | Won |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards[20] | December 20, 2010 | Best Documentary Feature | Nominated | |
| Directors Guild of America Awards[21] | December 29, 2010 | Best Documentary | Won | |
| Gotham Independent Film Awards[22] | November 29, 2010 | Best Documentary | Nominated | |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards[23] | January 3, 2011 | Best Documentary | Nominated | |
| Writers Guild of America Awards[24] | February 5, 2011 | Best Documentary Screenplay | Won |
