William Hurt plays U.S Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, in this film about the financial meltdown of 2008. The film follows the collapse of Lehmann Brothers in September 2008 told through the eyes of the bankers and law-makers.
In one of the most transfixing financial narratives in years, Andrew Ross Sorkin-a financial correspondent for the New York Times, delivers the first definitive in-depth account of the economic crisis that brought the entire world to collapse.
Through unrivalled access to the key players involved, he re-creates all the drama and havoc of these turbulent days, revealing never-before-disclosed details and recounting how, motivated as often by ego and greed as by fear and self-preservation, the most powerful people in finance and politics decided the fate of the world’s economy. 
The film reminds us that for all the hatred these moneymen receive, they represent the achievement and positivity of capitalism – smart, ruthlessness, with their eye on the ball and who always try their best. Too big to fail attempts to make these horrifying moments into comedy gold.
By experiencing the financial meltdown through Paulson himself with his sleepless nights, his afternoons spent vomiting, and his high-minded attempt to save the country from financial ruin, we can’t help but laugh at his failures with an “it’s your fault; sort it” kind of attitude. However, we are then reminded that this man is just like the rest of us, and is doing his very best to save the day.
Too Big to Fail is an excellent documentary, with credible performances, and a tense script. We already know how the story ends and are reminded that aside from severe loss of face and a handful of redundancies, at the end of it all the main players were still a group of multi-millionaires who did try their hardest. The collective crisis was too big for anyone to take responsibility for and the real victims in all of this were the taxpayers.
