Film Review: "Margin Call" (2011).

"Be first. Be smarter. Or cheat." This Margin Call. This drama film written and directed by J. C. Chandor in his feature directorial debut. A financial company's management division head working on a major analysis is fired. His protege attempts to complete the analysis and finds out the true reason behind their financial downfall.

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. The screenplay was featured in the 2010 Blacklist; a list of the "most liked" unmade scripts of the year. By late June 2010, Kevin Spacey, Zachary Quinto, Jeremy Irons, Paul Bettany, Simon Baker, Penn Badgley, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Aasif Mandvi, Mary McDonnell, Ashley Williams, Susan Blackwell, and Al Sapienza were cast. Ben Kingsley and Carla Gugino were originally cast, but was ultimately replaced with Irons and Moore. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in early July. Filming took place in New York City.

The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Spacey, Quinto, Irons, Bettany, Baker, Badgley, Moore, Tucci, Mandvi, McDonnell, Williams, Blackwell, and Sapienza. Quinto does a fine job opposite a typically stern Jeremy Irons, a typically sociopathic Kevin Spacey, and a surprisingly likeable Simon Baker. Quinto is magnificent as a wide-eyed innocent who transitions into a slick veteran pitchman. Spacey and Irons steal nearly every scene they are in as Rogers and Tuld, the top dogs of the firm. The engaging cast provide an engaging showcase wrapped around a warm and fuzzy morality play. Entertaining and fast-paced but ultimately not wound quite tightly enough to be the thriller it would like to be.

Margin Call is a confident film that tackles a worthwhile topic with insight and conviction. First-time filmmaker J. C. Chandor does a nice job of initially establishing the central character and the raucous office in which, at times, the story transpires. Turns of dialogue ring compellingly true, and the well chosen cast carry the inflections of the drama with some style. Chandor, wrote and directed this film has crafted an intense thriller about this often risky business. Although the film occasionally feels more like a 60 Minutes expose than a movie, it adds up to a highly watchable, entertaining (though extremely profane) cautionary tale. Backed by tense and dramatic music, a pretty good script faulters a bit when it rushes the progress and consequences of the characters. The film's greatest strength is its energy level. Every scene clips along at the pace and energy level of the world in which it's set. The tension and pacing of the film are fast and exciting, like in a good thriller, and the setting is exotic and original. Its ending is disappointingly tidy, but the film boasts just enough sharp writing and brisk pacing to make getting there worthwhile. The film may be derivative and flawed, but it does throw off a few sparks.

Simon says Margin Call receives: