The Big Short (2015)

In 2006-7 a group of investors bet against the US mortgage market. In their research they discover how flawed and corrupt the market is.

Director:

Adam McKay

Writers:

Charles Randolph (screenplay by), Adam McKay (screenplay by)

Stars:

Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling

Won 1 Oscar. Another 37 wins & 80 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Gosling	...	Jared Vennett
Rudy Eisenzopf	...	Lewis Ranieri
Casey Groves	...	Fund Manager
Charlie Talbert	...	Lewis Bond Trader
Harold Gervais	...	Lewis Bond Trader
Maria Frangos	...	Exotic Dancer
Christian Bale	...	Michael Burry
Hunter Burke	...	Analyst
Bernard Hocke	...	Coach
Shauna Rappold	...	Michael Burry's Mom
Brandon Stacy	...	Michael Burry's Dad
Aiden Flowers	...	Young Michael Burry
Peter Epstein	...	Paul Baum
Anthony Marble	...	Therapy Businessman
Silas Cooper	...	Therapy Businessman

Storyline

Three separate but parallel stories of the U.S mortgage housing crisis of 2005 are told. Michael Burry, an eccentric ex-physician turned one-eyed Scion Capital hedge fund manager, has traded traditional office attire for shorts, bare feet and a Supercuts haircut. He believes that the US housing market is built on a bubble that will burst within the next few years. Autonomy within the company allows Burry to do largely as he pleases, so Burry proceeds to bet against the housing market with the banks, who are more than happy to accept his proposal for something that has never happened in American history. The banks believe that Burry is a crackpot and therefore are confident in that they will win the deal. Jared Vennett with Deutschebank gets wind of what Burry is doing and, as an investor believes he too can cash in on Burry's beliefs. An errant telephone call to FrontPoint Partners gets this information into the hands of Mark Baum, an idealist who is fed up with the corruption in the ...

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Plot Keywords:

finance | banking | bank | mortgage | fraud | 

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Taglines:

Shocking, powerful, unbelievable, and it's true

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language and some sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 December 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Big Short

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$705,527, 13 December 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$70,259,870

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$133,346,506

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Regency Enterprises, Plan B Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat DTS (DTS: X)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The quotation that appears on screen, "'Truth is like poetry. And most people fucking hate poetry.' - Overheard at a Washington, D.C. bar," was written by director and co-writer Adam McKay, after unsuccessfully searching for the perfect quotation to use for that segment.

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Goofs

While the guys explore an abandoned home in Miami, the pile of junk mail includes a Ralph's Grocery Store receipt. Ralph's are only found in Southern California.

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Quotes

Margot Robbie: Basically, Lewis Ranieri's mortgage bonds were amazingly profitable for the big banks. They made billions and billions on their 2% fee they got for selling each of these bonds. But then, they started running out of mortgages to put in them. After all, there are only so many homes and so many people with good enough jobs to buy them, right? So, the banks started filling these bonds with riskier and riskier mortgages. That way, they can keep that profit machine churning, alright? By the way, ...

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Connections

Referenced in Point Shoot 'n' Eat: 103 - Academy Awards Preview (2016)

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Soundtracks

Danke Schoen
Written by Milton Gabler (as Milt Gabler), Bert Kaempfert, and Kurt Schwabach
Performed by Wayne Newton
Courtesy of Erin Miel, Inc.

User Reviews

Surprisingly fun ride!

This is one of the best films of the year, hands down. It was just incredible. This film takes a subject matter that could be considered boring by some, and totally draws you into it. It finds creative ways to break everything down for the audience, and makes it entertaining. I love how it's self aware, even at some points straight up going, "This isn't how it happened, but it's way more interesting this way." I love how it breaks the 4th wall, with celebrities who make cameos to explain complicated things to the audience. It's brilliant. I left this movie angry that this happened, it really gets you thinking.

Adam Mckay's script is fantastic. The characters are very well written, which every one being interesting and well developed. The film effortlessly blends comedy with drama, one minute making you laugh out loud, and and then it stops you right in it's tracks. There are some really heartbreaking moments here.

The acting is just phenomenal, and this is Steve Carell's best performance. It's just incredible. If he's not nominated an Oscar for this, it's robbery. It's easily better than his Foxcatcher performance. Christian Bale is great as well, playing the socially awkward Michael Burry. Brad Pitt with his limited screen time was great as well. Ryan Gosling is a scene stealer here, he's hilarious.

He's really the only character not struggling here, he's making money off all of it. This movie is extremely stylish, with brilliant editing that I hope wins it an Oscar. This film does everything it can to make everything fun, and it does a great job. This is as entertaining as it is thought provoking. Adam Mckay should tackle drama more often, as he did an extraordinary job with this. 9.5/10