| Margin Call | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | J. C. Chandor |
| Written by | J. C. Chandor |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Frank DeMarco |
| Edited by | Pete Beaudreau |
| Music by | Nathan Larson |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | |
Release dates |
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Running time | 107 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3.5 million[2] |
| Box office | $19.5 million[2] |
Margin Call is a 2011 Americandrama film written and directed byJ. C. Chandor in his feature directorial debut. The principal story takes place over a 24-hour period at a largeWall Streetinvestment bank during the initial stages of the2008 financial crisis. It focuses on the actions taken by a group of employees during the subsequent financial collapse. The title comes fromthe finance term for when an investor must increase the securities or other assets used ascollateral for a loan when their value falls below a certain threshold. The film stars anensemble cast consisting ofKevin Spacey,Paul Bettany,Jeremy Irons,Zachary Quinto,Penn Badgley,Simon Baker,Mary McDonnell,Demi Moore, andStanley Tucci.
The film was produced byMyriad Pictures,Benaroya Pictures andBefore the Door Pictures. It was produced in association withWashington Square Films. Theatrically, it was distributed byLionsgate andRoadside Attractions in North America, with Myriad handling international distribution through independent distributors. The director and screenwriter, J. C. Chandor, is the son of an investment banker; the screenplay was partially informed by Chandor's own foray into real estate investments in New York City shortly before the financial crash. The score was composed by Nathan Larson.
The film premiered at theSundance Film Festival on January 25, 2011, and opened in theaters nationwide in the United States on October 21, 2011. It received positive critical reviews, and was nominated for several awards for its screenplay and direction, including a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay. It won best first film at theNew York Film Critics Circle Awards and best original screenplay at theSan Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards in 2011. It grossed $2.5 million in domestic ticket sales after expanding to 178 theaters, and the film had aday-and-date release with video-on-demand sales that, based on early indicators, were comparable to theatrical ticket sales. TheDVD andBlu-ray editions were released in the U.S. on December 20, 2011.
In 2008, aninvestment bank begins laying off a large number of employees, among them Eric Dale, the head ofrisk management. Dale's attempts to speak about the implications of amodel he is working on are ignored. On his way out, he gives a flash drive containing his work to Peter Sullivan, an analyst in his department, warning him to "be careful". Sullivan, intrigued, works after hours to complete Dale's model.
Sullivan discovers that the assumptions underpinning the firm's risk profile are wrong; historicalvolatility levels inmortgage-backed securities are being exceeded, so the firm'sposition in those assets isover-leveraged and the debt incurred from those over-leveraged assets could bankrupt the company. Sullivan calls his colleague, junior analyst Seth Bregman, to return to work with the head of credit trading, Will Emerson. Emerson in turn summons Sam Rogers, his boss, after reviewing Sullivan's findings. They are unable to contact Dale because his company phone has been disabled. Sullivan and Bregman go out to find Dale, while Rogers and Emerson inform the company's senior management of the situation.
A meeting of division head Jared Cohen,chief risk management officer Sarah Robertson, and other senior executives concludes that Sullivan's findings are accurate, and CEO John Tuld is called. Upon Tuld's arrival, and after Sullivan explains the problem, Rogers, Cohen, and Tuld spar regarding a course of action: Cohen's plan, favored by Tuld, is afire sale of the problematic assets. Rogers disagrees, pointing out that the sale will damage the firm's relationships and reputation within the industry and cause major instability in the markets. Tuld stresses that his desire to avoid the firm's bankruptcy is worth that cost.
After the meeting with Tuld, Emerson learns from Dale's wife that he has returned home. Emerson travels to Dale's residence with Bregman and attempts to persuade him to return to the firm, but he refuses. During the drive back, Bregman asks if he will lose his job; Emerson responds that he likely will but, philosophizing on the nature of the financial markets, tells him not to lose faith and that his work is necessary.
Tuld tells Robertson that he will assign the blame to her in front of the traders and theboard of directors; Robertson argues that she warned Tuld and Cohen about the situation over a year ago, and that both acknowledged the risks, but fails to persuade him. Meanwhile, Dale is bribed and forced into cooperating with Cohen's plan, with the firm threatening to cut his benefits and severance if he refuses. He spends the day commiserating with Robertson.
Despite his misgivings, Rogers rallies his traders and informs them of the fire sale. He acknowledges the damage likely to be done to their reputations and careers but tells them that they will receive seven-figure bonuses if most of the traders' assigned assets are sold by day's end. As trading progresses, the firm elicits suspicion and eventually anger from theircounterparties and incurs heavy losses, but they manage to sell off most of the bad assets.
Another round of layoffs begins; Rogers, upon finding out that he was spared, confronts Tuld and submits his resignation. Tuld dismisses Rogers' view of the situation by recalling pasteconomic crises, arguing that such events always happen and that Rogers should not feel guilty for acting in his and the firm's interests. Tuld asks Rogers to stay on for two more years, and Rogers reluctantly accepts, citing his personal financial need. Tuld also informs Rogers that Sullivan will be promoted.
Finally, Rogers buries his euthanized dog in his ex-wife's front yard during the night.
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Chandor wrote the screenplay in a borrowed office atWashington Square Films on theBowery, which he described as "a home for homeless film makers". While his family lived inProvidence, he slept on the couch until production budget allowed him to rent a nearby apartment. He kept pictures of the actors on the wall to track eyelines for the multi-character conference room scenes.[3]
Myriad Pictures first introduced the project at the Cannes Film Market in May 2010.[4]Principal photography began on June 21, 2010, inNew York City and was shot in 17 days.[5] More than 80% of the action was shot on the 42nd floor ofOne Penn Plaza, which had recently been vacated by a trading firm.[6][7] Jeremy Irons joined the cast during the third week of filming to play the firm's chief executive.[8][9]
At theAmerican Film Market in November 2010, Myriad president Kirk D'Amico showed footage to international buyers for the first time, closing deals in Germany, China, Canada, Australia, Italy, Russia, Scandinavia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Latin America.[4]
The film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival inPark City, Utah.[10] Following the screening, multiple distributors competed to acquire the film. After all-night negotiations, Lionsgate partnered withRoadside Attractions to acquire North American distribution rights.IFC Films was reportedly among the top bidders, offering a seven-figure sum.Myriad Pictures retained international distribution rights.[11]
The film also played in Competition at the61st Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for theGolden Bear.[12][13] The film was produced by Zachary Quinto's production company,Before the Door Pictures, with Quinto and his two producing partners andCarnegie Mellon University classmates,Neal Dodson and Corey Moosa.[14]
The film does not depict any real Wall Street firm, and the fictional firm is unnamed, but the plot has similarities to some events during the 2008 financial crisis:Goldman Sachs similarly moved early tohedge and reduce its position in mortgage-backed securities, at the urging of two employees,[15] which essentially mirrors Tuld's comment about the advantage of moving first.[16][17][18]Lehman Brothers moved second andwent bankrupt.[19] John Tuld's name is said to be a combination ofMerrill Lynch's ex-CEOJohn Thain and Lehman Brothers' ex-CEORichard Fuld.[20] DirectorJ. C. Chandor wrote the film in the days after Lehman Brothers failed.[21][22][23]
Margin Call grossed $5.4 million domestically (United States and Canada), and $14.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $19.5 million, against a budget of $3.5 million.[2][24]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 87% of 170 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Smart, tightly wound, and solidly acted,Margin Call turns the convoluted financial meltdown of '08 into gripping, thought-provoking drama."[25]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[26]
The New Yorker film criticDavid Denby said it was "easily the best Wall Street movie ever made".[27] Philip French ofThe Guardian called it the "best fictional treatment" of the 2008 financial crisis.[28] Justin Chang ofVariety described it as "a methodical, coolly absorbing boardroom thriller".[29] Jake Bernstein ofProPublica said that Chandor "used the financial crisis as a springboard to create the most insightful Wall Street movie ever filmed".[30]Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times gave the film three and half stars out of four, noting that it "employs an excellent cast who can make financial talk into compelling dialogue."[31] In 2022,Bloomberg News financial columnistMatt Levine describedMargin Call as "the best finance movie".[32] Film critic Bill Wine rated it 3 out of 4 stars, noting in a review forCBS: "Chandor takes a gamble with a screenplay that some might see as repetitive, but works nicely to make dense material clear and understandable."[33] Chris Knight of theNational Post described it as "clearly a cautionary tale" but "also a crackling good thriller."[34] Dylan Matthews ofVox wrote in 2022: "To a large degree, my love forMargin Call boils down to it being the one film that, more than any other, seems to understand the modern workplace (or at least the office workplace), and the moral compromises involved in living and thriving in that world."[35]
A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times wrote: "It is hard to believe thatMargin Call is Mr. Chandor's first feature. His formal command – his ability to imply far more than he shows or says and to orchestrate a large, complex drama out of whispers, glances, and snippets of jargon – is downright awe inspiring."[36] He continued: "Margin Call is a thriller, moving through ambient shadows to the anxious tempo of Nathan Larson's hushed, anxious score. It is also a horror movie, with disaster lurking like an unseen demon outside the skyscraper windows and behind the computer screens. It is also a workplace comedy of sorts. The crackling, syncopated dialogue and the plot, full of reversals and double crosses, owe an obvious debt toDavid Mamet's profane fables of deal-makingmachismo. Hovering over all of it is the dark romance of capital: the elegance of numbers; the kinkiness of money; the deep, rotten, erotic allure of power."[36] Michael M. Grynbaum of The New York Times described it as "one of the quietest films about Wall Street ever made."[21]
Mike Russell ofThe Oregonian rated it C+, noting that Chandor downplayed "everything to the point of mild sleepiness" and wrote "far too many variations of that Hollywood device where a character asks for a spreadsheet or highly technical financial concept to be explained to them 'in plain English, please.'"[37]
Stephen Farber ofThe Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Technical credits are top-notch. Frank DeMarco's sleek cinematography of the Manhattan skyline effectively immerses us in the soulless but inviting universe where these financial dramas played out. Sadly, the script doesn't burrow as rewardingly beneath the glittering surfaces."[10][38]
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