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

This was Writer and Director J.C. Chandor's first feature-length film.

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Goofs

Financial institutions of that magnitude always have high profile security setups. No computer screen could be unlocked if the employee is away. Even if the person forgot to lock it while leaving, automated security settings would lock the screen after a defined period of time.

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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

Steven Spielberg appears in the "Special Thanks" in the end credits but misspelled as "Steven Speilberg" on theatrical prints.

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Connections

Referenced in Edición Especial Coleccionista: La última noche del Titanic (2012)

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Soundtracks

Prelude, Op. 28, No. 15
Written by Frédéric Chopin (as Frederic Chopin)
Performed by Violetta Zambetti

User Reviews

the unofficial wall street sequel

While I am a big fan of Oliver Stone and I did enjoy his second Wall Street movie, I have to admit, that this one is superior in every way. Great acting talent at hand, great (unfortunately) real story, which might be a bit heightened for obvious reasons, but still very scary if you think about the whole thing.

As stated above the actors make a big difference. They have to convey decisions and stand by things that you shouldn't normally do. But then again it's not as if this didn't happen (one way or the other). The movie also seems to have affected people since its original slated release date got pushed forward. Festival releases (where I saw it too) and the general good response made that an easy decision. Watching this should be one too ...