Big Short, The (2015)
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Review #1,257 |
THE SCOOP
Director: Adam McKay
Cast: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt
Plot: Four denizens of the world of high-finance predict the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s, and decide to take on the big banks for their greed and lack of foresight.
Genre: Biography / Drama / Comedy
Awards: Won 1 Oscar - Best Adapted Screenplay. Nom. for 4 Oscars - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing.
Runtime: 130min
Rating: NC16 (cut) for pervasive language and some sexuality/nudity.
Distributor: United International Pictures
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
“Saints don't live on
Park Avenue.”
I try to avoid bad movies, but this
is a very rare instance that a film so highly regarded, not to mention a Best
Picture Oscar nominee, nearly put me to sleep.
A vastly overrated drama-comedy on the devastating financial collapse of
2008 and the men who predicted it, The
Big Short turns a serious issue into a farcical study on Man's stupidity,
or more accurately, on the Thinking Man's stupidity, particularly of such shrewd
people as lawmakers, bankers and financial heads.
Well, that is okay, and as far as
the layman is concerned, it is scrutiny well-deserved. But when the movie is done in a gimmicky,
attention-seeking way, it might just be better to look the other way. The Big
Short turned me off because of that, and for many more reasons.
Director Adam McKay, who made such
movies as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron
Burgundy (2004) and Talladega Nights:
The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), gives us a whirlwind of visual
information, suggestive images and a lot of dialogue. It is no wonder that the film has been
nominated for Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay – but whether the
craft (or gimmick) is effective is left for audiences to decide.
The movie feels repetitive,
hammering home the message that there are many, many stupid people in the
world, not just the smart, fraudulent ones, but the gullible, honest ones. The condescending tone and flashy style of
filmmaking might be entertaining to some, but for me, the movie falls flat on
its face.
It never dazzles, unlike the film The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), which
similarly explores the theme of greed and terrible foresight, but in
exhilarating ways. Despite the commendable
effort to put visual and sound together in interesting ways, the result is a
labourious movie to watch.
Steve
Carrell gives the best performance of the quartet, not surprisingly because his
character is the most well-developed of the lot. Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling don’t offer much
and are largely forgettable, while Christian Bale turns in a physical
performance that promises much, but his character fails to compel.
The Big Short also contains a whole load of finance-related jargon, which
will alienate those not familiar with the associated terms – the worst part is
that the movie amplifies the confusion by getting famous people to explain them
to us with their own analogies.
Well,
let me offer my analogy: remember back when you were still a student, and everyone
had to present a topic in front of the class?
Well, there was always one ostentatious student who would create a slide-show
with lots of pretentious effects and transitions, but whatever that came out of
his or her presentation was a muddled piece of crap. I think Adam McKay can be proud to be that poster
boy.
Verdict: A condescending and gimmicky mess that feels
repetitive and labourious to watch, not to mention it tries too hard to
entertain but falls flat on its face.
GRADE: C
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