A funny thing about the financial crisis that started in 2008 and continues to affect both Main Street and Wall Street to this day: it doesn't really translate that well to film. Well, feature films, anyway. The documentaries are great -- see Inside Job, for reference -- but from Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps to the HBO film Too Big to Fail, the biggest news story of the last three years seems all too small and boring when high-priced stars are acting out its machinations onscreen. Into that arena comes Margin Call; can the star-studded fiscal drama succeed where others failed?
In the casting department, absolutely. The J.C. Chandor-directed drama stars (deep breath): Kevin Spacey, Zachary Quinto, Jeremy Irons, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Stanley Tucci, Paul Bettany and Demi Moore. Judging from the trailer, Irons looks delicious as usual -- all he needs is a moustache to twirl -- while Badgley and Quinto affect some kind of Giovanni Ribisi-in-Boiler Room level of bro'd-out machismo. Spacey and Tucci lend gravitas, while Moore is a grey business suit away from Disclosure. Not bad! On the face of it, Margin Call seems pretty thrilling, but whether or not it capitalizes on a strong trailer remains to be seen. After all, Wall Street: Puts Me to Sleep Money Never Sleeps looked pretty good in trailer form as well.
VERDICT: Hold.
Margin Call hits theaters on Oct. 21.