“I’ll cut right to the chase, I don’t think I’ve ever been as confused by a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. Kind of a weird feeling.
With a ridiculous ensemble cast that includes Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Steve Carrell, and Ryan Gosling, this movie (helmed by Anchorman director Adam McKay) follows a couple different parties that predicted the housing market crash that would eventually drive our country to a recession. They each took gambles to bet against the markets, in the hopes of taking down the big banks and earning a windfall for themselves.
Does that sound potentially confusing yet? If you’re not hip to financial news and lingo, it very much is. Thankfully, they found clever ways to work around that, adding in explanations and expositions in some very unique and resourceful ways. Seriously, brilliant. I don’t wanna spoil the surprise or I’d explain more. I still didn’t quite get everything that was happening, but I knew enough to feel the correct things (surprise, anger, amusement) at the right times.
There was much concern around this film that such a known comic director was tackling such a weighty subject, but I thought he was a perfect fit. This story could have been very dry and dull, but there was this humor and life infused into it. So much of what happened really is stranger than fiction, which makes the lighter almost incredulous approach incredibly appropriate. Actually, here’s a good analogy, it’s a lot like watching Last Week Tonight. It always leaves me feeling equally entertained, educated, and enraged.
The Big Short – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/”