The Big Short

This review may contain spoilers!

I learnt a lesson watching this film, one that I think is valuable and should be viewed by anyone and everyone if you can. I would give The Big Short an 8.5/10.

Straight off the bat this film has a phenomenal plot with incredible dialogue and a goal to instruct the viewer while also providing a story. The fourth wall is constantly broken so that we may be educated by the cast over how the 2007-2008 recession came to be, this is a very unique tactic and one I was suitably impressed by. The film is filled with a lot of comedy or horrifying reveals that allows this film to flow very smoothly; I can't express how long it has been since I've watched a well paced film. This film is shot in a way that is very erratic and has an almost documentary quality, the cinematography practically acts as an agent to the plot. The editing in this film is some of the best I've seen in a while, I really enjoyed the speed of the cutting as well as the insertion of popculture videos and photos. The score for this film is pretty good but ultimately what really sets this film apart is the soundtrack; the soundtrack creates a fun quality to the film that heightens the scenes and makes some jargon intensive scenes easier to understand.

Ryan Gosling, who played Jared Vennett, is the perfect person to provide a lot of narration and audience interaction within this film; I loved that he was a showman and was constantly talking to the rest of the cast like a salesman. Christian Bale, who played Michael Burry, gave a great performance as this socially awkward role; I think Bale was one of the most sincere and honest characters within the film. Tracy Letts, who played Lawrence Fields, creates a great amount of conflict for Bale in this film; I enjoyed seeing his barely restrained anger in this film. Jeffry Griffin, who played Jared's Assistant, was such a great source of comedy in this film; Griffin really played well off Gosling in their scenes together. Anthony Bourdain, Richard Thaler, Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez, who played themselves, presented some of the greatest cameos within the film; they were used as a funny way to explain some of the harder jargon in the film and it made for some of the best scenes. Brad Pitt, who played Ben Rickert, was a character who was crucial in presenting some of the harsher realities of this film; I thought Pitt's best scene was when he reminded Magaro and Wittrock that people were going to lose their jobs and homes. Max Greenfield and Billy Magnussen, who played Mortgage Broker 1 and 2, gave another example of the film's incredible ability for casting incredible cameos; they're boisterous and ignorant roles made for a really fun scene between them and Carell. Byron Mann, who played Mr Chau, had a really great scene with Carell in this film; I enjoyed watching him confess his greed to Carell and create another great example of an antagonist for this film.

However the best performance came from Steve Carell, who played Mark Baum. Carell's feisty cussing role was such an enjoyable character to watch onscreen. I really appreciated that he was one of the people with the most unwavering set of morals in the film, you felt as tired as he did by the end of the story. I think Carell' breaking down over the death of Baum's brother at the end of the film was a really powerful scene, you feel pretty moved by this character at that point. Carell ultimately presents a crusader who you are rooting for this entire film and who is constantly being faced by the twisted corruption of the banking world.

My only real criticism about the film itself is the jargon, which is really a necessary evil for the film. The jargon can be exceptionally hard to follow and difficult to understand but at the end of the day the film wouldn't be what it is without it so I respect the film for what it is.

Marisa Tomei, who played Cynthia Baum, is a board for Carell to bounce his amazing acting off; she literally does nothing in this film. Adepero Oduye, who played Kathy Tao, is a role that I wish had gotten more scenes because she could have been phenomenal in this film; as it was she got maybe six minutes screen time with Carell which just wasn't enough to make her stand out. Rafe Spall, who played Danny Moses, was one of the most forgettable of Baum's entourage; he had very little screen presence in this film. Hamish Linklater, who played Porter Collins, was someone I found cringeworthy to watch; his comedy really paled in comparison to the rest of the cast and it felt like he was trying too hard. Jeremy Strong, who played Vinnie Daniel, was almost as abrasive as Carell but it didn't really work as well for Strong; Strong lacked the presence of Carell so he just felt like a similar but lesser role. John Magaro and Finn Wittrock, who played Charlie Geller and Jamie Shipley respectively, carried an entire storyline but it was easily the weakest of the film if you remove Pitt; these two are just introduced too late and don't impact the story enough for you to actually care about them. Karen gillan, who played Evie, was one of the few weak cameos of the film; you didn't care much about her role or what she was talking about.