The Big Short Movie Review (Spoiler Free)

Christian Bale and Steve Carell deliver a funny and shocking drama about the true events of the 2007 economic meltdown. 

Genre: Biography / Drama

Director: Adam McKay

Cast: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, John Magaro, Finn Wittrock, Jeremy Strong, Hamish Linklater, Marisa Tomei, Karen Gillan & Brad Pitt.

Run Time: 130 min.

US Release: 23 December 2015

UK Release:  22 January 2016

German Release: 14 January 2016

The Big Short was in no way a movie I was anticipating this year because the subject simply does not interest me. Under normal circumstances, not even the wide array of big, talented actors that star in this film would have been able to convince me to watch and enjoy this film, but I was pleasantly surprised when the credits rolled, and it did keep me thinking all night until I fell asleep.

What really startled me, though, is how this movie made me care about the world of finances. Not about the money or the big man sitting in an office, but about those that suffer; generally innocent people who pay their taxes regularly and live righteous lives. I felt really dirty and ashamed of our society (this is something that is not only happening in the States, but here in Europe as well) and how demoralised and greedy we got. The only thing I wanted to do when I got back from the theatre was to take a shower!

The plot depicts the events that led to the 2007 financial crisis that stalled the Western economy. Michael Burry (Bale), an eccentric hedge fund manager, discovers that the housing market has become extremely unstable and calls his investors about it. To prove his point, he bets against the market, which gets the attention of Jared Vennett (Gosling), a trader for Deutsche Bank. 

Vennett seeks the help of hedge fund manager Mark Baum to take on the banks for their mistakes, ignorance and stupidity. While mean young investors and friends Charlie Geller (Magaro) and Jamie Shipley (Wittrock) find one of the reports written by Vennett and enlist the help of former banker Ben Rickert (Pitt) to profit from the circumstances.

The Big Short is told in a very unique way, by specifically splitting up the plot into three acts and telling it from three different perspectives: that of Michael Burry, Mark Baum and partners Charlie Geller and Jamie Shipley, while the character of Jared Vennett acts as the narrator. McKay manages to turn a dry subject into a very unique plus entertaining movie. 

The narrative of this film is really well elaborated and simplified for the audience to help them understand exactly which factors were dependent, leading to the complete breakdown of the global economy in 2007/2008. I left the screening room feeling thankful for this because a lot of the numbers and terms didn’t make sense to me. Short cameos of different stars are used to explain in detail what happened to the housing market back then.

The dialogue is remarkable and completely different to any other motion picture. Most characters often break the fourth wall, looking directly into the camera and talking straight to the audience.

That said, it is not an impeccable movie, containing severe issues which hampered my enjoyment a little. One of those problems is the direction; even though I liked the story and the camera work, the way the plot unfolded was somewhat off and did bother me while watching it. My other complaint is rather a nitpick, but I thought that it sometimes dives a little too deep into the matter at hand, which can end up being very difficult and dry to follow. In all honesty, this movie could have benefited from cutting 15 minutes out!

The acting and the characters are one of the best parts of this drama. Christian Bale is fantastic as the one-eyed, somewhat weird and socially difficult Michael Burry. The hedge fund manager and number cruncher foresaw the big financial crisis of 2007-2008. Bale manages to capture the personality of his character really well and added some humour to his persona.

Steve Carell is another great addition to this film. He proved that he is capable of more than just comedy, playing the very angry Mark Baum who lost all faith in humanity. Just like Bale, Carell manages to add some witty humour at times, but it never clashes with the core tone. Once it switched to a more serious and dramatic tone, Carell is all there. 

Ryan Gosling & Brad Pitt, although very good, are completely underused. Pitt is in this movie for about one-quarter of its length, while Gosling is a mere side character. What's even worse is that Gosling plays a disgusting human being the audience can not relate to at all, who is chosen to be the narrator of the whole account. 

John Magaro & Finn Wittrock, two actors I know little to nothing about, are the actual other two main characters in this biographical drama about banking. Both give good performances as the young investors Geller and Shipley, who accidentally stumble upon Vennett’s paperwork about the house market bubble.

Just like the plot, the cinematography of The Big Short has a very unique style. It is filmed as a documentary, including a lot of fast cuts to convey information, as well as making use of a few crash zooms on images from 2005 to 2008. I also liked how they implement real-life footage from the news into the flick. 

But even the cinematography had some troubles. One of the challenges I noticed is the quality of the film, because it made use of cheap and “unprofessional” techniques to sell the documentary-esque style. Use of better shots and an improvement in the quality of filming would have made for a much better visual experience. 

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Verdict: The Big Short was an unconventional movie with great acting that turned a true story and potentially boring plot into a fun and entertaining motion picture. It still has issues, though, with the direction and cinematography and part of its advertised cast only made appearances as supporting characters. In the end, The Big Short is a movie I do recommend seeing in cinemas, as long as you are interested in the thematic. I will give it an 8.0 out of 10.

So did you see The Big Short yet? What did you think of this biographical drama that displayed the events leading up to the financial crisis? Thank you for reading this review & if you liked it, please leave a comment and share it with friends and family. 

I will go see The 5th Wave this Thursday, so expect my review for it sometime around Friday.