The housing market crash in 2008 was one which was very much unprecedented by the world population, caused following the breakdown of the once full-proof plan created back in the latter half of the twentieth century lead to high risk subprime loans and fewer returns. As such, the worldwide economy broke down and brought the world into the state it is today. However, unknown to most and laughed at by many, the collapse was predicted and syndicated by various groups of people who had to fight the system to let the world discover what a shambles the market was in. Unfortunately, because of the little belief given to it, the information only saw the public limelight in 2010 when the non-fiction novel of the same name was published, with an adaptation announced in 2013 with an all-star cast added soon after and Ant-Man & Anchorman scribe Adam McKay which begs the question: can a comedy writer-director work on a serious drama based around the otherwise-boring subject of economics?
In 2005, Dr Michael Burry (Christian Bale) discovered during a study on mortgage lending practices that the housing market was becoming increasingly unstable and predicted that the bubble would burst some time around 2007. However, his biggest client believes it to be an entirely false hypothesis so Burry experiments it by betting against the banks via a credit default swap market – an idea which the banks find so stupid that they accept solely because of how unlikely it was. Naturally, word began to spread about this factor, with Ryan Gosling's Jared Vennett approaching Mark Baum (Steve Carell)'s team about the notion of the economy being unstable and Baum trying to figure the whole mess out; whilst a duo of aspiring investors (John Magaro and Finn Wittrock) using Burry's hypothesis as a way of "making it to the big boy table" with the help of retired banker Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt). From there, all three parties attempt to beat the incoming demise of the once-solid system which risks making millions homeless and unemployed.
Whilst the advertisements for the feature appear to be highlighting some form of heist-esque storyline against the degenerate banking system, the very nature of the film is instead following the three different bands of characters (Pitt and co; Carell, Gosling and company; and Bale with his company) on the road to failure with little-to-no interaction between either group. The closest you get to it aside from the mentions made about Burry's theory which sparks the whole thing is a brief moment where Carell and Pitt are in the same scene but don't interact with one another. But that's kinda what makes the whole thing better – three different groups of people reacting to the same notion that could severely affect the world population should it come true. And as such, the stories each one carries does make for some great viewing. Christian Bale suffering the repercussions of his testing with his company going lower and lower in the market as time goes by; Steve Carell and his little band of allies researching the allegations brought to them by accident by a potentially manipulative Ryan Gosling and discovering just how bad the CDOs and AAA ratings are (don't worry about the technical details, they're described expertly using multiple cutaways to celebrities explaining it in a clear and occasionally humorous manner); and Magaro and Wittrock trying to beat the system for their own advantage at the risk of losing a sense of humanity for those who they're overlooking for the sake of their own goals to the chagrin of Brad Pitt's tired retiree helper. Each story compliments one another, and the links between them all thanks to multiple fourth wall breaks help the pacing keep consistent.
The biggest flaw that can be had with this film is unfortunately its direction. While the direction of the actors is great as we'll shortly get onto and the choice of shots is by no means a disaster, the ongoing changes in focus and the uneasy camera motions do make for an interesting experience to say the least. At times these choices do make valid sense, but at other times it feels less like a professional picture directed by a now-Oscar nominated visionary but more like a student who's only just discovered how to operate a camera and is playing around with it. Thankfully the editing does its best to mask some of these particular shots away and save for the odd shots which show characters picking up something twice (a minor nitpick) does come across as rather remarkable, but for a feature whose direction has attracted attention from the Academy's best and whitest most talented does make it a tad more disappointing and a large detractor from what we see onscreen.
With only one actor highlighted by the same Academy of voters for an award in a crowded season, it is somewhat surprising that Christian Bale is placed in the Best Supporting Actor field, for he's more of a main star than anything and isn't even the best of the bunch. Certainly, his performance as the one-eyed and potentially Asperger's-ridden fund manager is a strong one and will likely be highlighted as one of his best, but the best of the bunch? That instead is more deserving of the multi-layered performance by Steve Carell, whose dramatic turn in Foxcatcher appears to have payed off for this performance which is not only stronger but also incredibly vivid and appeasing. His reluctance as he treads through the events and results that transpire leads him not only through a personal path regarding the loss of a family member (which doesn't get all that much focus but no matter) but also his humanity as he's faced with a strong choice which could shock audience members. Why he isn’t nominated instead of Bale is a shock, as he's more supporting than anything. His band of helpers in the form of Rafe Spall (the optimistic one), Hamish Linklater (the pessimistic one) and Jeremy Strong (the assistant one) may all be one-note by comparison, but all three do give off great performances with some memorable lines of dialogue between Spall and Linklater indicating to strong chemistry between the quadruple. Ryan Gosling is as charismatic as ever as the somewhat mysterious Vennett but isn't given nearly as much screen-time that he deserves, whilst team Pitt has some good performances from its two younger characters and Pitt himself.
The Big Short may be an entertaining economic tale whose 130 minute runtime leads to few dull moments and some strong performances ranging from the big parts of Carell and company to the bit roles for the likes of Karen Gillan, Melissa Leo and Marisa Tomei, but its ultimate flaw is in the direction and camera work which leads to a huge distraction to what greatness we see onscreen. Most will probably be able to look past it, but personally it was just too much to take. But nevertheless, this is one worth checking out. 8/10.
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