In 2008, the global financial crisis came, due to which many in the USA and Europe not only lost their business and savings, but also lost their homes. For an ordinary resident of the CIS, the crisis brought a rise in the price of the dollar, as a result of which prices rose, and a reduction in jobs began. After what happened, many wondered how this could happen in the modern world, but instead of answers, you often had to listen to abstruse lectures on economics, from which little could be understood.
For those who still don’t understand why the 2008 crisis occurred, Adam Mackay made the movie “The Short Game”. In it, the director tried to explain in an accessible language what really happened and who is to blame for it.
The motion picture “The Short Game” (The Big Short)
In 2010, Michael Lewis wrote the book “A Big Game for a Slump. Secret Springs of Financial Disaster. ” Shortly after publication, she became a bestseller.
In his essay, the author tried in a fascinating way to talk about the causes of the 2008 crisis.
Despite its popularity, only readers with knowledge of the economy could understand the essence of this work. Among them was director Adam Mackay, known for the comedies of category “B”. Lewis' work attracted him, and Mackay set about promoting the book as a script for a future film. After several years of preparation and filming in 2015, “The Downgrade Game” was released.
Despite a very modest budget, many famous actors were involved in the project, and the script finalized by Charles Randolph turned out to be so good that he won an Oscar. The picture itself collected at the box office four times more than was spent on its production, and was also awarded many prestigious awards (Hollywood Film Awards, Sputnik, BAFTA, etc.).
Plot
In 2005, several Wall Street financiers, independently observing the real estate loan situation in the United States, realized that a financial crisis of the level of the Great Depression was coming. Horrified, they decide to capitalize on this and buy the appropriate securities.
However, 2007 is coming, and although a massive loan default is beginning across the country, banks artificially maintain a high exchange rate for their securities. Only after the two largest US investment banks go bankrupt in 2008, the entire economy of the country falls into crisis, dragging other countries of the world, which depend on the stability of the dollar.
In the final, the main characters are enriched, but this does not bring them joy. They realize that the real culprits of the incident - bankers and financiers who issued unsecured loans, as well as artificially wind up the cost of unstable securities - escaped punishment. Ordinary taxpayers suffered from the crisis.
The movie "The game for a fall": actors, starring
In this project, many stars were shot. First of all, this is Christian Bale (“Myo, My Myo”, “American Psycho”, “Equilibrium”, “Terminator: May the Savior Come,” “Exodus: Kings and Gods,” Nolan’s Batman trilogy and others). For a role in this film, he was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe. In the “Short game”, this actor played the financier Michael Burri, who was the first to notice signs of an approaching economic disaster and insured the money of his clients.
Another star of the project was Steve Carell (“Forty-year-old virgin”, “Tighten your brains”, “Evan Almighty”, “Fox Hunter”). He played the role of Front Point head Mark Baum, who hates financiers for their lying and unprincipled. Realizing the tragedy of the impending collapse, this hero decides to “punish” them, but at the end of the picture he understands that ordinary Americans will bear all the hardships of what happened.
Brad Pitt (Thelma and Louise, 12 Monkeys, Fight Club, Eleven Ocean Friends, Mr. and Mrs. Smith) acted as a producer in this film, and also played one of the secondary characters - a former businessman Wall Street, and now retired hippie Ben Rickert. His hero helps two young investors Charlie Geller and Jamie Shipley, who Wall Street banks do not perceive as worthy partners, those with whom to do business, to capitalize on the coming crisis.
No less important role in the film went to Ryan Gosling (“The Diary of Memory”, “The Ides of March”, “A Place Under the Pines,” “Nice Guys”). He played Jared Vennett, a trader at Deutsche Bank, who told Mark Baum how to make money on an impending collapse.
Actors in episodes
To explain the basic economic concepts to the inexperienced in the world of financial terms, viewers introduced episodic indents from the plot, in which the Hollywood movie and television stars played themselves.
First of all, it was the charming Margot Robbie (“Focus”, “The Wolf of Wall Street”, “Suicide Squad”). In a bathtub filled with foam, this long-legged beauty in simple language talked about subprime loans.
Another guest star was the actress and singer Selena Gomez (“Another Story about Cinderella”, “Monsters on Vacation”, “Leashy Vacations”). This girl on the example of playing cards explained the essence of synthetic LMS.
Also in the “Short Games”, the famous American chef Anthony Bourdain starred in the role of himself . Using the example of disposal of rotten fish, he explained what debt secured bonds are.
Positive reviews from critics about the picture
This film was quite warmly received by film critics. Most of them found the picture not only entertaining, but also very informative. In addition, the installation of the picture was noted, thanks to which the viewer did not have time to get bored, and the tape itself looked quite surreal, despite the fact that it was based on real events.
Also, the critically acclaimed “Downgrade Game” earned with respect to the acting of Christian Bale, who participated in the project, despite the injury, as well as Steve Carell.
The directorial work of Adam Mackay was also highly noted. In particular, many simply could not believe that the person who shot the second-rate comedies Cops in the Deep Reserve and Step Brothers was able to shoot a drama of such a high level.
Reviews about the moral side of this picture are also quite common among reviews. Thus, many critics note that the attitude of the main characters to the current situation in reality illustrates the different types of behavior of financiers at the onset of the crisis. The main characters are not positive or negative characters, they are just businessmen who managed to earn where others lost.
Negative reviews
Cinema critics also noted the shortcomings of this picture, despite numerous positive reviews.
"The game for a fall" was primarily criticized for the camera work, because of which the picture does not look like a whole.
Excessive moralizing has also triggered negative reviews. So, throughout the tape, the main characters are outraged by the dishonest policies of banks, which see only statistics in people. However, this does not prevent Burri, Baum, Bennett and others from capitalizing on the current situation. Their crocodile tears at the end of the picture are quite annoying and spoil the impression of the tape as a whole.
Among other things, has been criticized and the reliability of the "Short Games". In particular, neither in the film, nor in the book, on the basis of which it was shot, mentions another person who made a fortune at the financial collapse of 2008. This is John Paulson.
From the point of view of the correctness of the presentation of economic mechanisms that contributed to the formation of the financial bubble, some errors have been noted by critics. So, according to Wall Street professionals, unsecured real estate loans were one of many, but not the main cause of the crisis, as was shown in the movie.
The image of media inaction on the eve of the crash of 2008 was criticized. In reality, many reputable publications warned of the possibility of such a development of the situation.
The film "The game for a fall": reviews of the film viewers
As for the audience, despite the high box office, this project attracted mainly people who already have certain economic knowledge, as well as fans of Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling. Both the first and second perceived this picture positively, leaving mostly positive reviews.
The “Short Game” attracted viewers by the simplicity of difficult questions. In addition, many liked that about such a tragic event as the crisis of 2008, the film tells with ironic ease, as something inevitable, with which you just need to put up and live on. It was noted that domestic films like “Leviathan” just do not have enough.
Despite the intelligible explanations, many viewers from the CIS did not understand some financial terms due to the lack of analogues in the domestic economy, which is why they found the picture highly specialized and not very interesting.
In addition, the main characters, enriched by the grief of millions of their compatriots, have evoked negative feedback from residents of developing countries.
Those who perceived the “Short Game” as just a feature film, noted the excellent play of Carell and Bale.
Advantages and disadvantages of the "Short Games"
There are completely different reviews about this film. "The game for a fall" was able to earn both praise and sharp criticism.
Among the indisputable advantages of the film, according to the majority, is the cast, as well as the attempt by the creators of the picture to tell simply about complex things.
However, for people whose knowledge of economics does not go beyond the school curriculum, much of the film has remained incomprehensible.
Also, this picture is charged with the untimely appearance on the screen, since today society is worried about completely different problems. Come out “The Short Game” until 2014 - it would undoubtedly correspond to the audience’s requests. But in 2015-2016, in connection with numerous terrorist attacks around the world, the 2008 crisis is not as relevant as security issues.
The release of The Big Short was an important event in the cinema world, and the accolades are confirmation of this. Despite the shortcomings, The Short Game is a great example of how to make educational films. Therefore, every smart person should watch this movie not only to acquire new knowledge about the economy, but also to enjoy the game of Steve Carell, Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling.