The Big Short
Academy Award × 1
Rent/Purchase
The men who made millions from a global economic meltdown.
What critics thought
Broadly acclaimed on release and holding up well since, The Big Short wins over critics with its kinetic, fourth-wall-breaking approach to genuinely dense financial material — the film's party trick is making credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations feel both comprehensible and infuriating at once. Critics with finance backgrounds largely agreed it gets the big picture right, though some noted omissions — most pointedly the erasure of analyst Meredith Whitney's prominent role from the book — and the real Steve Eisman gently noted that Carell's portrayal stripped away his humor in favor of unrelenting anger. Its screenplay has earned lasting institutional respect, and audiences rediscovered it sharply during the 2021 GameStop short squeeze.
“a complicated tale palpable for the layperson even as it triggers outrage at the fatcats who helped cause it”
IGN
“these banks acted knowing Uncle Sam would bail them out if their bets went bad. Downside risk is meaningless when someone else takes the loss.”
Reason Magazine
Genres
Biography, Comedy, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorAdam McKay
StarringSteve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Marisa Tomei
ComposerNicholas Britell
The Big Short
Academy Award × 1
The men who made millions from a global economic meltdown.
What critics thought
Broadly acclaimed on release and holding up well since, The Big Short wins over critics with its kinetic, fourth-wall-breaking approach to genuinely dense financial material — the film's party trick is making credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations feel both comprehensible and infuriating at once. Critics with finance backgrounds largely agreed it gets the big picture right, though some noted omissions — most pointedly the erasure of analyst Meredith Whitney's prominent role from the book — and the real Steve Eisman gently noted that Carell's portrayal stripped away his humor in favor of unrelenting anger. Its screenplay has earned lasting institutional respect, and audiences rediscovered it sharply during the 2021 GameStop short squeeze.
“a complicated tale palpable for the layperson even as it triggers outrage at the fatcats who helped cause it”
IGN
“these banks acted knowing Uncle Sam would bail them out if their bets went bad. Downside risk is meaningless when someone else takes the loss.”
Reason Magazine
Genres
Biography, Comedy, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorAdam McKay
StarringSteve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Marisa Tomei
ComposerNicholas Britell
Rent/Purchase