The Big Short examines how the housing bust in the late 00s came to be. Adam McKay attempts to simplify a very convoluted series of events that occurred on Wall Street leading up to the crash. He mostly succeeds, by having actors break the fourth wall to summarize, having celebrity cameos (Margot Robbie, Anthony Bourdain etc playing themselves explaining things in layman's terms) and inserting laugh out loud dialogue throughout.
By the second half, though I tried to keep up with what was happening, as a layman myself I got lost. Events were happening quickly and the choice of using three sets of main characters (Steve Carells group, Brad Pitts group and Christian Bale) muddled what began as a very crisp and incredibly interesting story.
All of the main characters are fantastically performed by the actors (I was especially impressed by Carell, and Gosling is hilarious per usual). But the secondary characters (Florida brokers, real estate agent, the Vegas brokers etc) were way over the top and one dimensional, if it was on purpose, it didn't work for me. It felt like getting hit with a mallet. Marissa Tomei, who plays Carells wife is also given little to work with. (In fact, every female character in this movie is written as a one dimensional afterthought).
I would have liked to see some of the fat trimmed and more development of secondary characters. This was a valiant effort that falls short in the last act, trying to cram too much in at the last second. Because the film overtly tried to simply things in the first half, it made me feel even dumber at the end.
I lived through, and felt the effects, of the Great Recession. I am glad this film exists. I agree with the end, that pretty much say this will keep happening.
By the second half, though I tried to keep up with what was happening, as a layman myself I got lost. Events were happening quickly and the choice of using three sets of main characters (Steve Carells group, Brad Pitts group and Christian Bale) muddled what began as a very crisp and incredibly interesting story.
All of the main characters are fantastically performed by the actors (I was especially impressed by Carell, and Gosling is hilarious per usual). But the secondary characters (Florida brokers, real estate agent, the Vegas brokers etc) were way over the top and one dimensional, if it was on purpose, it didn't work for me. It felt like getting hit with a mallet. Marissa Tomei, who plays Carells wife is also given little to work with. (In fact, every female character in this movie is written as a one dimensional afterthought).
I would have liked to see some of the fat trimmed and more development of secondary characters. This was a valiant effort that falls short in the last act, trying to cram too much in at the last second. Because the film overtly tried to simply things in the first half, it made me feel even dumber at the end.
I lived through, and felt the effects, of the Great Recession. I am glad this film exists. I agree with the end, that pretty much say this will keep happening.