Adam McKay, the writer and director of Anchorman, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys, has created a movie adaptation of The Big Short, by Michael Lewis. Like the bestselling non-fiction book, the film spans the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis. Starting their tales in 2005, the star-studded cast—including the likes of Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt—depict the story of the few people who actually profited from the economic crash.
The movie interlaces three storylines; the first being the story of Michael Burry (Christian Bale). Burry has a medical background and prefers to be called Dr. Burry, suggesting he is still involved in a caring line of work; even though the opposite is actually true. Although he may be a trained physician, he definitely has very stunted social skills, to say the least. He is, however, a genius when it comes to crunching numbers and running analyses; which is how he comes up with the radical idea of betting against the US housing market.
After he finds some rather frightening data within mortgage bonds, Burry predicts the housing market will collapse in the second quarter of 2007. Most people do not believe Burry’s predictions will be successful—nobody thinks the idea will be lucrative. Even Burry’s clients lose their confidence in him and want to withdraw their money; but the market collapses, as predicted, and Burry ends up profiting by a massive 489%.
Rumours of Burry’s gamble spreads. As others start to hear about his actions and accurate predictions, they want to jump on board. Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), a trader, teams up with hedge fund manager Mark Baum (Steve Carell) and they bet against the banks. Two younger, out-of-town traders also get wind of the plan to short the housing market. They reel in ex-Wall Street guru, Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt) to get the wheels in motion; and they, too, follow in Burry’s path.
These three plotlines now twist and mingle with each other, but where will they lead? Although it means everyone’s faith in the system would be lost and the system must break, you find yourself rooting for Burry, Baum, Vennett and the others regardless. In reality, would these characters be any better than the greedy bankers they originally set out to destroy? Somehow, that doesn’t seem to matter by the end of the movie, as the characters have captured the audience and gained their support.
| Director: Adam McKay |
Stars: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling & Brad Pitt |
| Writers: Michael Lewis, Adam McKay & Charles Randolph |
Based on: The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis |
