Movie Review: The Big Short
Rating: 4 Stars
I think it’s safe to say that the first thoughts that come to mind when discussing The Big Short is the source material once again coming from nonfiction novelist Michael Lewis. This is Lewis’s third book adaptation turned into a major motion picture following The Blind Side and Moneyball.
The Blind Side was a box office success and Moneyball I would consider one of my favorite sports films of all time. Lewis’s works have been translated well to the big screen. The Big Short elevates more to the Moneyball end than The Blind Side which had its share of substantial issues.
The Big Short has its flaws. The most unavoidable flaw is attempting to fitfully explain to the viewer Wall Street jargon that is ultimately central to the plot. The Big Short is no doubt inspired by the whimsy of its director Adam McKay who is known for his fascinating directorial profile.
McKay spent his early career tied to the roller coaster that is Will Ferrell. The two created the website and now entertainment brand, “Funny or Die”, in 2007. They are more well known for their collaborations, Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and Step Brothers.
McKay enters The Big Short coming off Anchorman 2 which in my memory ended up being a lousy sequel in comparison to its rousing original. The lasting image of Anchorman 2 is its one viral scene that popped up in my YouTube recommendations for a few years featuring a thumbnail with Will Smith. Anyways…
The Big Short is quite the departure from McKay’s previous entries. I mentioned this in my review of Vice which was McKay’s next film. Having watched Vice first, it was easy to see where McKay’s influence is felt. The flash cuts in the editing. The fourth wall breaking. A sarcasm-laden script that points to a broken power structure.
The same way in which you would say, this sounds like a Timbaland or Pharell beat, you could say The Big Short and Vice feel and sound like a McKay production.
The Big Short concerns the housing market crash in 2007 that led to the infamous Great Recession. Inside the epicenter of the crisis was Wall Street, major banking institutions, and investors. The Big Short follows several players that saw the crash coming, and how they attempted to profit off of the imminent disaster.
What uplifts The Big Short is the source material is riveting and the characters are portrayed by a set of actors who are throwing 100 mph high heat. Brad Pitt must’ve been riding high off of Moneyball and knew that Lewis had another hit in him with The Big Short. Pitt sneaks in as an understated supporting role and commands the role with ease.
The Big Short did collect an Academy Award for Best Editing among several other nominations. The puzzling omission to me was Steve Carell not receiving a Best Supporting Actor nomination that instead went to Christian Bale. Bale does a great job in his own right but Carell is phenomenal. Gosling does well as the film’s emotional centerpiece as the anti-hero and somewhat trustworthy narrator.
McKay smartly cues in his audience that despite our natural disposition to sympathize, these Wall Street brokers and investors are not figures to be deified. The film has enough heart and assesses the morality of the situation to let the audience know who stands where.
It’s not so much a case of who are we rooting for more than what the repercussions of being the fortune teller and how impending doom equals profit for someone by hook or by crook.
The powerful message of The Big Short is that no matter how broken the system is, someone is going to convince you that the system still works because there’s an institution behind it. When the dam finally breaks, it’s the common folk the dam was meant to protect who drown. Those who built the dam in the first place run right back to repair the same system they claimed wasn’t broken.
Even in the moments when McKay’s film seems overindulgent, it’s this indelible message that holds The Big Short together and makes it a memorable and riveting experience.
