Margin Call

Margin Call is a 2011 American financial thriller film written and directed by J. C. Chandor in his feature directorial debut. The principal story takes place over a 24-hour period at a large Wall Street investment bank during the initial stages of the financial crisis of 2007–2008.[2][3] In focus are the actions taken by a group of employees during the subsequent financial collapse.[4] The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, and Stanley Tucci.

For other uses, see Margin (finance) § Margin call.
Margin Call
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJ. C. Chandor
Produced by
Written byJ. C. Chandor
Starring
Music byNathan Larson
CinematographyFrank DeMarco
Edited byPete Beaudreau
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • January 25, 2011 (2011-01-25) (Sundance)
  • October 21, 2011 (2011-10-21) (United States)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3.5 million[1]
Box office$19.5 million[1]

The film was produced by the production companies Before the Door Pictures (first to sign on, and owned by Zachary Quinto), Benaroya Pictures, and Washington Square Films. Theatrically, it was commercially distributed by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions. Margin Call explores capitalism, greed, and investment fraud.[5] The director and screenwriter, J. C. Chandor, is himself the son of an investment banker; the screenplay was partially informed by Chandor's own foray into real estate investments in New York City soon before the financial crash.[6] Following its wide release in theaters, the film garnered award nominations from the Detroit Film Critics Society, along with several separate nominations for its screenplay and direction from recognized award organizations, including a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The score was composed by musician Nathan Larson.

The film made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2011, and opened in theaters nationwide in the United States on October 21, 2011, grossing $5,354,039 in domestic ticket receipts. It was screened at 199 theaters during its widest release in cinemas. It earned an additional $14,150,000 in business through international release to top out at a combined $19,504,039 in gross theatrical revenue. It was a ground-breaking day-and-date release that earned more than $10,000,000 in video-on-demand sales during its initial theatrical release. Preceding its theatrical release, Margin Call was met with positive critical reviews. The DVD and Blu-ray editions of the film were released in the United States on December 20, 2011.

Plot

An unnamed investment bank begins a mass layoff on the trading floor during a normal business day. Among those let go is Eric Dale (Tucci), head of risk management. Dale tries to speak about his current, unfinished project, first with human resources staff and then with desk head Will Emerson (Bettany), but is told that this is no longer his concern. While being escorted out of the building he meets one of his risk analysts, Peter Sullivan (Quinto), and gives him a USB stick to look at with a vague instruction to "be careful."

Sullivan works late that night to finish Dale's project, and discovers that current volatility in the firm's portfolio of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) has exceeded the historical volatility levels of the positions. Because of excessive leverage, if the portfolio's value decreases by 25%, the loss will be greater than the value of the firm itself and the firm will go bankrupt. Sullivan and his colleague, junior analyst Seth Bregman (Badgley), tell Emerson about the situation. Emerson alerts floor head Sam Rogers (Spacey), who also returns to the office from a veterinary hospital where his beloved dog is slowly dying. They attempt to contact Dale, but the company had shut off his phone and he has not yet returned home.

The firm's managers hold emergency meetings in the middle of the night in which division head Jared Cohen (Baker), chief risk management officer Sarah Robertson (Moore), and other senior executives discuss their options. Finally, CEO John Tuld (Irons) is called in. Sullivan explains the nature of the problem: the firm needs about a month to layer its MBS products, so the assets stay on the company's books longer than they might prefer. But because they are essentially mortgages (which are generally viewed as "low risk") the firm has been able to "push the leverage" beyond what they would otherwise be willing or allowed to do. Tuld compares the situation to musical chairs, stating that the 'music is about to stop', and that they would be left holding worthless assets. Sullivan, using Tuld’s analogy, suggests caution, noting that the music is 'just slowing', and if the 'music were to stop', the scenario would be considerably worse.

Cohen's plan is for the firm to quickly dump all of the toxic assets in a fire sale before the market learns of their worthlessness, thereby limiting the firm's exposure. Tuld favours Cohen's plan, but Rogers opposes it, warning that dumping all their toxic assets and spreading the risk throughout the financial sector will destroy the firm's relationships with its counterparties and cripple the market for the foreseeable future. He also warns Cohen that their customers will quickly learn of the firm's plans once they realize that the firm is only selling the toxic securities but not buying any new ones.

By early morning, Emerson finds Dale outside his home in Brooklyn. Emerson tries to convince him to return to the office, assuring him the firm will not pay him his severance and other benefits unless he agrees to participate in their plan, but Dale decides he would rather not have anything to do with the situation. Driving back, Emerson tells Seth he will probably lose his job but that he will get a large severance, explaining to him the amoral and cyclical nature of the markets. Meanwhile, it's intimated that Robertson, Cohen, and Tuld were aware of the risks in the weeks leading up to the crisis but didn't take them seriously. Tuld decides to make Robertson the scapegoat instead of Cohen, forcing her resignation and paying her a large severance in the process. Dale later arrives, having been convinced by Tuld's people that he will be better off cooperating with the firm, and also accepting an enormous amount of money for his silence. Dale and Robertson are confined to an office all day, and restricted from any outside communication while the firm conducts its critical day of business. Robertson expresses regret for not doing more to prevent the crisis, and Dale seems to accept her apology.

With the markets yet to open, Tuld convinces Rogers to go along with Cohen's plan. In a speech to his traders in preparation for the fire sale, Rogers intimates that by participating they are effectively ruining their reputations and ending their careers on Wall Street. However, he offers a $1.4 million bonus to those able to sell 93% of their assigned securities, with an additional $1.3 million bonuses if the entire sales floor can reach 93% as a whole. As the markets open, Emerson and the traders immediately begin selling off their securities. After a few hours they arouse from their colleagues, and by the end of the day they elicit sharp anger as word gets out about their true intentions. By the closing bell the firm has taken tremendous losses, dumping positions at steep discounts, but is successful in selling off all the toxic assets.

Cohen tells Rogers there will be another round of layoffs but Rogers will keep his job. Angry that he was retained after being made to play a toxic role, Rogers confronts Tuld, telling him that he wants to cash in his options, take his severance and leave the firm. Tuld dismisses his protests, claiming that the current crisis is no different from previous bear markets, and that sharp gains and losses are simply part of the economic cycle. He persuades Rogers to stay with the firm for another two years while they sort out the crisis, promising that there will be a lot of money to be made. Cohen brings in Sullivan, whom Tuld intends to promote. Rogers reluctantly accepts Tuld's deal, but says it is only because he needs the money.

Rogers buries his dog in his ex-wife's front yard in the middle of the night, and learns from her that their son's financial firm took a big hit but survived the day's trading. The screen cuts to black and the credits roll as the sound of Rogers shoveling dirt continues.

Cast
Kevin Spacey portrays Sam Rogers.
  • Kevin Spacey as Sam Rogers, head of sales, Will's boss, and by extension Peter's and Seth's.
  • Zachary Quinto as Peter Sullivan, one of Eric's risk analysts, who first uncovers the crisis.
  • Jeremy Irons as John Tuld, the CEO of the firm, who is flown in to deal with the crisis.
  • Paul Bettany as Will Emerson, head of trading, who was Eric's boss until his departure.
  • Simon Baker as Jared Cohen, division chief for the firm, who reports directly to Tuld.
  • Penn Badgley as Seth Bregman, one of Eric's junior risk analysts, who is dragged along for the ride.
  • Demi Moore as Sarah Robertson, chief risk management officer, and colleague of Cohen's.
  • Stanley Tucci as Eric Dale, head of risk management under Sam and Will, who is fired in the layoffs.
  • Aasif Mandvi as Ramesh Shah, an unspecified senior management officer (possibly the company's General Counsel) from "upstairs".
  • Mary McDonnell as Mary Rogers, Sam's ex-wife.
  • Ashley Williams as Heather Burke, one of the junior HR officers responsible for the layoffs.
  • Susan Blackwell as Lauren Bratberg, one of the senior HR officers responsible for the layoffs.
  • Al Sapienza as Louis Carmelo, Tuld's personal advisor and aide.

Production

Filming

Principal photography began on June 21, 2010, in New York City.[2] More than 80% of the action was shot on the 42nd floor of One Penn Plaza, which had recently been vacated by a trading firm.[7][8]

The film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The film also played In Competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Bear.[9][10] The film was produced by Zachary Quinto's production company, Before the Door Pictures, by Quinto and his two producing partners and Carnegie Mellon University classmates, Neal Dodson and Corey Moosa.[11]

Reception

Critical response

The film received positive reviews from critics, garnering an 87% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 171 reviews with an average rating of 7.22/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Smart, tightly wound, and solidly acted, Margin Call turns the convoluted financial meltdown of '08 into gripping, thought-provoking drama."[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[13]

The New Yorker film critic David Denby said it was "easily the best Wall Street movie ever made".[14] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and half stars out of four, and said: "Margin Call employs an excellent cast who can make financial talk into compelling dialogue."[15] A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote: "It is hard to believe that Margin Call is Mr. Chandor’s first feature. His formal command—his ability to imply far more than he shows or says and to orchestrate a large, complex drama out of whispers, glances, and snippets of jargon—is downright awe inspiring."[16]

Themes

Roger Ebert wrote: "I think the movie is about how its characters are concerned only by the welfare of their corporations. There is no larger sense of the public good. Corporations are amoral, and exist to survive and succeed, at whatever human cost. This is what the Occupy Wall Street protesters are angry about: They are not against capitalism, but about Wall Street dishonesty and greed. [...] [The cast] reflects the enormity of what is happening: Their company and their lives are being rendered meaningless."[15] A.O. Scott wrote: "Margin Call is a thriller, moving through ambient shadows to the anxious tempo of Nathan Larson’s hushed, anxious score. It is also a horror movie, with disaster lurking like an unseen demon outside the skyscraper windows and behind the computer screens. It is also a workplace comedy of sorts. The crackling, syncopated dialogue and the plot, full of reversals and double crosses, owe an obvious debt to David Mamet’s profane fables of deal-making machismo. Hovering over all of it is the dark romance of capital: the elegance of numbers; the kinkiness of money; the deep, rotten, erotic allure of power."[16]

Although the film does not depict any real Wall Street firm, and the fictional firm is never named, the plot has similarities to some events during the 2008 financial crisis: Goldman Sachs similarly moved early to hedge and reduce its position in mortgage-backed securities, at the urging of two employees,[17] which essentially mirrors Tuld's comment about the advantage of moving first. Lehman Brothers moved second and went bankrupt. John Tuld's name is said to be a combination of Merrill Lynch's ex-CEO John Thain and Lehman Brothers' ex-CEO Richard Fuld.[18]

Accolades
Awards Group Category Recipient Result
Academy Awards Best Original Screenplay J. C. Chandor Nominated
Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts[19] Best Film – International J. C. Chandor, Neal Dodson, Zachary Quinto Nominated
Best Direction – International J. C. Chandor Nominated
Best Screenplay – International Won
Casting Society of America[20] Outstanding Achievement in Casting
for a Studio or Independent Drama Feature		 Bernard Telsey, Tiffany Little Canfield Nominated
Detroit Film Critics Society[21] Best Ensemble Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards Best First Feature J. C. Chandor, Neal Dodson, Zachary Quinto Won
Best First Screenplay J. C. Chandor Nominated
Robert Altman Award J. C. Chandor, Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernie Telsey, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey and Stanley Tucci Won
National Board of Review Awards[22] Spotlight Award for Best Directorial Debut J. C. Chandor Won
Top 10 Independent Films Nominated
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards[23] Best Original Screenplay J. C. Chandor Won
New York Film Critics Circle Awards[24] Best First Film Won

See also

References
Footnotes
  1. "Margin Call". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  2. Dash, Eric (June 22, 2010). "Citi Goes Hollywood for Spacey and Crew". The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
  3. Fleming, Mike (September 13, 2010). "Margin Call Director J.C. Chandor Snags Big Warner Bros Writing Gig From DiCaprio". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  4. Kit, Borys (June 15, 2010). "Simon Baker, Paul Bettany eye indie drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
  5. Kyle Bryan (Director). (2011). Margin Call [Motion picture]. United States: Lionsgate.
  6. Writer, W. JACOB PERRY, Staff. "Ridge High grad directs new Hollywood thriller". New Jersey Hills. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  7. Wallace, Benjamin (October 16, 2011). "What's Up, Spock?: He might be a famous Vulcan, but Zachary Quinto has no problem being fully human". New York.
  8. Chesto, Jon. "Director of "Margin Call" didn't need a big budget to depict Wall Street's mortgage meltdown". WickedLocal.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  9. "The Competition of the 61st Berlinale". Berlinale. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  10. "Spacey, Moore and 3D in focus at Berlin film fest". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  11. "Before The Door". beforethedoor.com. 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  12. "Margin Call (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  13. "Margin Call Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  14. Denby, David. "All That Glitters". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  15. Ebert, Roger (October 19, 2011). "Margin Call". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  16. Scott, A. O. (October 21, 2011). "Margin Call with Zachary Quinto Review". The New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  17. Alloway, Tracey (December 10, 2010). "Goldman's uneasy subprime short". The Financial Times. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  18. La Roche, Julia (October 26, 2011). "The Director Of 'Margin Call' Reveals The Event That Inspired The Film". Business Insider. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  19. "AACTA Awards winners and nominees" (PDF). Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). January 31, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  20. "Casting Society of America Announces Artios Awards Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. August 20, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  21. "Detroit Film Critics". detroitfilmcritics.com. 2012. Archived from the original on February 23, 2010.
  22. Corliss, Richard (December 1, 2011). "Year-End Awards: National Board of Review Says 'We Go with Hugo'". TIME. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  23. Pond, Steve (December 11, 2011). "San Francisco film critics pick "Tree of Life"". The Wrap. Reuters. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  24. ""The Artist" Leads New York Film Critics' Circle Awards". November 29, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
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