Margin Call
Rent & Buy
Set in the high-stakes world of the financial industry, involving the key players at an investment firm during one perilous 24-hour period in the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis. An entry-level analyst unlocks information that could prove to be the downfall of the firm.
What critics thought
J.C. Chandor's debut feature is widely praised as the sharpest fictional portrait of the 2008 financial crisis yet committed to film — a slow-burn boardroom thriller that trusts its ensemble cast and its audience. The main fault line in reviews runs between critics who found its deliberate quietness hypnotic and those who felt it tipped into inertia, with the film's habit of having characters explain complex finance in plain terms either praised as an elegant dramaturgical device or dismissed as a tired Hollywood shortcut.
“his formal command – his ability to imply far more than he shows or says and to orchestrate a large, complex drama out of whispers, glances, and snippets of jargon – is downright awe inspiring”
A. O. Scott·The New York Times
“Chandor takes a gamble with a screenplay that some might see as repetitive, but works nicely to make dense material clear and understandable”
Bill Wine·CBS
“Chandor downplayed everything to the point of mild sleepiness”
Mike Russell·The Oregonian
“Sadly, the script doesn't burrow as rewardingly beneath the glittering surfaces”
Stephen Farber·The Hollywood Reporter
Accolades
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Cast & Crew
J.C. ChandorDirector
Kevin SpaceySam Rogers
Zachary QuintoPeter Sullivan
Paul BettanyWill Emerson
Jeremy IronsJohn Tuld
Simon BakerJared Cohen
Penn BadgleySeth Bregman
Demi MooreSarah Robertson
Stanley TucciEric Dale
Ashley WilliamsHeather Burke
Mary McDonnellMary Rogers
Aasif MandviRamesh Shah
Susan BlackwellLauren Bratberg
Nathan LarsonComposer
Frankie DeMarcoCinematographyMargin Call
Set in the high-stakes world of the financial industry, involving the key players at an investment firm during one perilous 24-hour period in the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis. An entry-level analyst unlocks information that could prove to be the downfall of the firm.
What critics thought
J.C. Chandor's debut feature is widely praised as the sharpest fictional portrait of the 2008 financial crisis yet committed to film — a slow-burn boardroom thriller that trusts its ensemble cast and its audience. The main fault line in reviews runs between critics who found its deliberate quietness hypnotic and those who felt it tipped into inertia, with the film's habit of having characters explain complex finance in plain terms either praised as an elegant dramaturgical device or dismissed as a tired Hollywood shortcut.
“his formal command – his ability to imply far more than he shows or says and to orchestrate a large, complex drama out of whispers, glances, and snippets of jargon – is downright awe inspiring”
A. O. Scott·The New York Times
“Chandor takes a gamble with a screenplay that some might see as repetitive, but works nicely to make dense material clear and understandable”
Bill Wine·CBS
“Chandor downplayed everything to the point of mild sleepiness”
Mike Russell·The Oregonian
“Sadly, the script doesn't burrow as rewardingly beneath the glittering surfaces”
Stephen Farber·The Hollywood Reporter
Accolades
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Cast & Crew
J.C. ChandorDirectorKevin SpaceySam RogersZachary QuintoPeter SullivanPaul BettanyWill EmersonJeremy IronsJohn TuldSimon BakerJared CohenPenn BadgleySeth BregmanDemi MooreSarah RobertsonStanley TucciEric DaleAshley WilliamsHeather BurkeMary McDonnellMary RogersAasif MandviRamesh ShahSusan BlackwellLauren BratbergNathan LarsonComposerFrankie DeMarcoCinematographyRent & Buy