Margin Call (2011)

Follows the key people at an investment bank, over a 24-hour period, during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis.

Director:

J.C. Chandor

Writer:

J.C. Chandor

Stars:

Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Spacey

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Spacey	...	Sam Rogers
Paul Bettany	...	Will Emerson
Jeremy Irons	...	John Tuld
Zachary Quinto	...	Peter Sullivan
Penn Badgley	...	Seth Bregman
Simon Baker	...	Jared Cohen
Mary McDonnell	...	Mary Rogers
Demi Moore	...	Sarah Robertson
Stanley Tucci	...	Eric Dale
Aasif Mandvi	...	Ramesh Shah
Ashley Williams	...	Heather Burke
Susan Blackwell	...	Lauren Bratberg
Maria Dizzia	...	Executive Assistant
Jimmy Palumbo	...	Security Guard
Al Sapienza	...	Louis Carmelo

Storyline

A respected financial company is downsizing and one of the victims is the risk management division head, who was working on a major analysis just when he was let go. His protégé completes the study late into the night and then frantically calls his colleagues in about the company's financial disaster he has discovered. What follows is a long night of panicked double checking and double dealing as the senior management prepare to do whatever it takes to mitigate the debacle to come even as the handful of conscientious comrades find themselves dragged along into the unethical abyss.

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Plot Keywords:

financial crisis | financial disaster | capital management | investment fraud | management | 

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Taglines:

Be first. Be smarter. Or cheat.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 2011 (Germany)

Also Known As:

El precio de la codicia

Filming Locations:

Vornado Realty Trust, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$561,904, 23 October 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,354,039, 12 May 2012

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$19,504,039, 31 December 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Before The Door Pictures,Benaroya Pictures,Washington Square Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

J.C. Chandor said that he wrote the script for the story he had been carrying around in his head for about a "year-and-a-half" in just four days, filling time between job interviews in Boulder, Colorado.

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Goofs

When Eric Dale is fired, he's told his systems access, email and phone will be terminated immediately. And yet when he returns to his office, his screen is clearly still logged into his user account/email.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Seth Bregman: Just like that? Jesus Christ! Are they going to do it right here?
Will Emerson: You guys ever been through this before?
Seth Bregman: No.
Will Emerson: It's best to keep your head down and ignore it. Keep your head down and go back to work.

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Crazy Credits

Several names are listed as the "Jeremy Irons Visa Miracle Team" who were able to get Irons into the US to film his scenes in New York City.

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

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Soundtracks

Deep Tech
Written & Performed by Philip Quinaz
Courtesy of Philip Quinaz Music/BMI

User Reviews

Really good. Go see it.

Saw this at New Directors festival in NYC and really enjoyed and was engrossed in this film. A great cast with splendid performances. The film is very intense and although it is about a company involved in the financial meltdown of 2008, it really is about much more. I particularly liked the way the film depicts the frightening absolute and ruthless power of the corporation over the lives of people that work there as well as the implications and ripples for everyone else.How those people get sucked in to the embrace, security and pleasures of what the corporations have to offer and the consequences and vulnerabilities of those choices.The freedom and comforts that we cherish here in twenty first century USA are not as secure as we might think. Don't want to say much more, other than that "Margin Call" is very involving and in the end affecting and thought provoking.It packs a powerful punch.