Margin Call is a 2011 American independent drama film, written and directed by J.C. Chandor. The film has an ensemble cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, and Penn Badgley. The film takes place over a 36-hour period at a large investment bank (loosely modeled on Lehman Brothers) and focuses on the financial crisis of 2007–2008.^[4][5] The film follows the actions taken by a group of employees during the financial collapse.^[6]

The film was first shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011 and opened on October 21, 2011 in the United States.

Plot[link]

Junior risk analyst Seth Bregman (Penn Badgley), his more senior colleague Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) and trading desk head Will Emerson (Paul Bettany) watch as a human resources team conducts mass layoffs on their trading floor. One of the fired employees is Peter and Seth's boss, Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci), who heads risk management on the floor. Before leaving, Dale gives Peter a USB memory stick with a project he had been working on, telling him to "be careful." That night, Peter finishes the project, and discovers that trading will soon exceed the historical volatility levels used by the firm to calculate risk. Because of excessive leverage, if the firm's assets in mortgage-backed securities decrease by 25%, the firm will suffer a loss greater than its market capitalization. Sullivan alerts Emerson, who calls floor head Sam Rogers (Kevin Spacey).

The employees remain at the firm all night for a series of meetings with more senior executives, including division head Jared Cohen (Simon Baker) and chief risk management officer Sarah Robertson (Demi Moore), and finally CEO John Tuld (Jeremy Irons). Jared's plan is for the firm to quickly sell all of the toxic assets before the market can react to the news of their worthlessness, thereby limiting the firm's exposure, a course favored by Tuld over Rogers's strong objection. Rogers warns Cohen and Tuld that dumping the firm's toxic assets will spread the risk throughout the financial sector and will destroy the firm's relationships with its counterparties. Rogers also warns Cohen that their customers will quickly realize the firm's plans once they learn that the firm is selling the toxic mortgage-backed securities but not buying them.

The characters finally locate Dale, who had been missing after his company phone was turned off and is eventually persuaded to come in with the promise of a generous fee and the threat of having his severance package challenged if he didn't. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Robertson, Cohen, and Tuld were aware of the risks in the weeks leading up to the crisis. Tuld plans to offer Robertson's resignation to the board and employees as a sacrificial lamb.

Before the markets open, Rogers tells his traders they will receive seven figure bonuses if they achieve a 93% reduction in certain MBS asset classes in a "fire sale". He admits that the traders are effectively ending their careers by destroying their relationships with their clients. Meanwhile, Robertson and Dale sit in an office, being paid handsomely to do nothing for the day; Robertson vigorously defends herself that she warned of the risks although perhaps not loudly enough. Emerson manages to close the positions, but his counterparties become increasingly agitated and suspicious as the day wears on. After trading hours end, Rogers watches the same human resources team begin another round of layoffs on his floor. He confronts Tuld and asks to resign, but Tuld dismisses his protests claiming that the current crisis is really no different from various crashes and bear markets of the past, and sharp gains and losses are simply part of the economic cycle. He persuades Rogers to stay at the firm for another two years, promising that there will be a lot of money to be made from the coming crisis. Rogers sees Sullivan meeting with Cohen about his imminent promotion. Emerson survives, and it is implied that Bregman will be let go.

In the final scene, Rogers is shown burying his dog that has died of cancer in his ex-wife's front lawn.

Cast[link]

• Kevin Spacey as Sam Rogers
• Paul Bettany as Will Emerson
• Jeremy Irons as John Tuld
• Zachary Quinto as Peter Sullivan
• Penn Badgley as Seth Bregman
• Simon Baker as Jared Cohen
• Stanley Tucci as Eric Dale
• Demi Moore as Sarah Robertson
• Aasif Mandvi as Ramesh Shah
• Mary McDonnell as Mary Rogers
• Ashley Williams as Heather Burke
• Susan Blackwell as Lauren Bratberg
• Al Sapienza as Louis Carmelo

Production[link]

Principal photography began on June 21, 2010, in New York City.^[4] More than 80 percent of the action was shot on the 42nd floor of One Penn Plaza, which had recently been vacated by a trading firm.^[7][8] The film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The film also played In Competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Bear.^[9][10] The film was produced by Zachary Quinto's production company, Before The Door Pictures, by Quinto and his two producing partners and Carnegie Mellon University classmates, Neal Dodson and Corey Moosa.^[11]

Reception[link]

The film received positive reviews from critics, garnering an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[12] The New Yorker described the film as "easily the best Wall Street movie ever made".^[13]

Although the film does not depict any real Wall Street firm, or similar corporate action during the 2008 financial crisis, firms like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns found themselves similarly and catastrophically over-leveraged in mortgage-backed securities. They scrambled, ultimately unsuccessfully, to manage the financial and public panic that ensued when their problems became apparent and the global financial markets plunged as a result. The character John Tuld (Irons) is loosely based upon Dick Fuld, the former CEO of Lehman Brothers.

Accolades[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Margin Call

• Official website
• Margin Call at the Internet Movie Database
• Margin Call at AllRovi
• Margin Call at Box Office Mojo
• Margin Call at Rotten Tomatoes
• Margin Call at Metacritic