Equity (2016)

Senior investment banker Naomi Bishop is threatened by a financial scandal and must untangle a web of corruption.

Director:

Meera Menon

Writers:

Sarah Megan Thomas (story by), Alysia Reiner (story by)

Stars:

Anna Gunn, James Purefoy, Sarah Megan Thomas

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anna Gunn	...	Naomi Bishop
James Purefoy	...	Michael Connor
Sarah Megan Thomas	...	Erin Manning
Alysia Reiner	...	Samantha Ryan
Samuel Roukin	...	Ed
Craig Bierko	...	Benji Akers
Nate Corddry	...	Cory
Nick Gehlfuss	...	Gabe
Carrie Preston	...	Compliance Officer Abby
Tracie Thoms	...	Melanie
Lee Tergesen	...	Randall
James Naughton	...	John
Roe Hartrampf	...	Teddy
Kyle Beltran	...	Bill
David Alan Basche	...	Ian

Storyline

Naomi Bishop is an investment banker determined to overcome a previous stain to her professional reputation, which is a challenge in the male dominated financial sector she works in. As Naomi in that spirit makes her move managing a burgeoning new tech IPO, she has to endure not only the condescension of her colleagues, but also her imperious client even as troubling new developments cloud the venture's future. Against that, the probing of a college friend turned Federal investment law prosecutor and the conniving of her double-dealing boyfriend seem to be manageable complications, until a betrayal by a trusted colleague threatens to ruin everything.

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Plot Keywords:

sexism | female boxer | boxing gloves | punching bag | personal trainer | 

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Taglines:

On Wall Street, all players are not created equal

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language throughout

Did You Know?

Trivia

All scenes shot with Bloomberg TV reporters were shot at Bloomberg, using real Bloomberg anchors, producers, directors and crew. All of those scenes were the first scenes shot for the movie even though those news scenes span the entire film.

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Goofs

Right before the IPO, there is a scene where Erin Manning is looking in the mirror at her pregnant belly and conceals it with a long, loose-fitting top. However, in all subsequent scenes, she's wearing tailor fitted blouses and shows no signs of being pregnant.

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Quotes

Michael Connor: You know what's weird about the whole privacy thing?
Naomi Bishop: What?
Michael Connor: Half the world is paranoid and the other half's password is "password."

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Connections

References All the President's Men (1976)

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Soundtracks

Centipedes
Written by Robbie Crowell
Performed by Robbie Crowell
Courtesy of Robbie Crowell

User Reviews

Banker Chick

Greetings again from the darkness. A film made by women in a male-dominated profession about women in a (different) male-dominated profession becomes the first female-centric Wall Street movie. Director Meera Menon (Farah Goes Bang) and writers Amy Fox, Sarah Megan Thomas and Alysia Reiner have a lot to say … maybe even more than they intended.

Anna Gunn ("Breaking Bad") delivers a strong lead performance as Naomi Bishop, a hard-driving and successful investment banker - a self-described "banker chick". She's coming off a failed client IPO – her biggest career failure. Naomi basically torments and disrespects her first assistant Erin (Sarah Megan Thomas), and she regularly sleeps with a co-worker and hedge fund manager Michael Connor (James Purefoy) for the benefits only. In other words, Naomi is much like the men we have seen in these roles over the years.

While pursuing her next IPO with a hotshot d-bag tech entrepreneur (Samuel Roukin as Ed) who claims to have a revolutionary impenetrable cyberware, Naomi is unwittingly (although it could be argued that she SHOULD have known) being played by multiple parties. One of these is a Justice Department investigator (Alysia Reiner as Samantha) who is trying to use their old college connection as a way to gather intel on Naomi's firm and Michael Connor. Adding complexity and turmoil are Craig Bierko as an egotistical investor who pressures Michael for insider info, Sophie von Hasselberg (Marin) who is a disgruntled programmer for Ed's company, and Tracie Thoms as Samantha's partner and co-parent of their kids.

Fractured relationships abound as all characters are driven by something other than the relationships. We are told "money is not a dirty word", but it sure seems like motivation for these folks is centered on power, ambition, and yes … money. The social issues and moral dilemmas come across as less important than the challenge of competing (rather than collaborating). Seamless backstabbing is a valued skill in this world, and always present are greed, desperation and paranoia. This is post-2008 Wall Street, but it looks pretty darned familiar.

Previous films have taken us inside this world. Wall Street (1987), Margin Call (2011), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), and The Big Short (2015) each provided some lesson on this corrupt-to-the-core industry and helped us understand the dual meaning of the title, but this is the first to show us the women who fight the same fights. If there is a disappointment here, it's the apparent conclusion that putting women in the same high-stakes game as men means they will compete in much the same way, rather than finding a better, more graceful way. Gordon Gekko may not have been right when he said "greed is good", but it seems pretty clear that greed is prevalent. It's a lesson we evidently must be reminded of on a regular basis … and whatever you do, make sure to count the chocolate chips before giving that cookie to Naomi!

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 July 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Equity

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$82,434, 31 July 2016

Gross USA:

$1,605,463

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,672,306

Company Credits

Production Co:

2 Wonder Full To Be, Broad Street Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color