Review: The Big Short (2015)

The Big Short (2015) 

2h 10m runtime

IMDB (7.9/114k) 

RT (88% Fresh)

Director: Adam McKay

Screenplay: Charles Randolph, Adam McKay, Michael Lewis(Book credit)

Stars: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt

The Big Short was released in 2015 and took home the Oscar for best original screenplay. The film was driven by veteran comedy director Adam McKay (Step Brothers, Anchorman) who also co-wrote the screenplay with Charles Randolph (The Interpreter, Love & Other Drugs). They based the film on the book by Michael Lewis called The Big Short : Inside the Doomsday Machine. He based his book on the truth behind the financial and housing crisis in the 2000’s. 

The film has a style in its directing that keeps you entertained throughout. They use fourth-wall breaking narration in an interesting way. It kept the viewer aware that this is not some work of devious fiction, but a true story based on the real crimes committed by large financial institutions directly to the detriment of the people.

The screenplay really impressed me in its ability to make this film, so filled with financial principles, so entertaining. The dialog was sharp and realistic, and the film benefitted from its large cast as it showed several different perspectives and kept the pace moving. They also seemed to explain the financial terms with simple but accurate parallels to bring even people without knowledge into the conversation. They many times used direct narration to the viewer to explain something, but because of who they used to narrate it didn’t come off flat, but rather quirky and entertaining. (Who would have thought I would hear Selena Gomez explaining CDOs)

The cast was terrific. Everyone in the film filled their roles. Steve Carrell and Christian Bale were in top form throughout the film. Both of them progressed in incredible ways and you could almost feel the pressure mounting on their shoulders. The final scene with Steve Carrell is one of my favorite of his acting moments. You could see so much without a looming speech or emotional breakdown. Its subtlety and clarity shone through and he really carried the emotional impact of the film.

Overall this is a very entertaining film based on very disturbing content. It has some light moments and it has moments of inner turmoil. The screenplay won the Academy Award this year (It was nominated for five). The directing and cast were fantastic. I have and will continue this film to nearly anyone.

4.3/5

Adam McKay is working on the screenplay for a Marvel Comics film called Ant-Man and the Wasp. Christian Bale has two films coming out late 2016 called The Promise and Terrence Malicks newest film Weightless. You can see Steve Carell in the as of yet untitled Woody Allen project. Keep an eye out for Ryan Gosling in Shane Black’s new crime comedy The Nice Guys.

z