Great Actor in Hollywood

The topic of conversation on Janurary 26 was not the freezing weather (30℉, helpless cinephiles tripping on the slushy sidewalks like drunk penguins), nor the drug addict arrested in Egyptain Theathre trying to sell some merchandise while drinking a green smoothie, but rather the moderately unknown financial movie directed by a first-timer that was talked around endlessly. It started off with the surprise that everybody felt upon hearing the cast names, quickly followed by curiosity to see the film like a virus spreading to idle passerbys. 

Gary Miles is an avid Sundance goer who has attended every year since 2001. His favorite film this year, so far, is Like Crazy due to the chemistry between the leads. Any successful romance movie needs chemistry or else it just falls apart. 

'Sundance is truly the heaven for indie films. I need to make the line, it's almost four.' 

What amazed him was the long line for the movie. Dark clothing, Sorel boots, and white faces was all he could see. 

'This must be the longest line for any movie this week. Has to be.' 

He adjusted his wool beanie and approached a dazed film student with a Canon Camera. She looked like she was trying to balance her own weight — either from a party before, or the snow-laced streets were too foreign for the West coast native. 

"Is this movie really this popular? 

"Oh yeah. I watched it at the premiere yesterday" 

"I wanted to see this Seth character more. This journalist wrote a good piece about it you should check it out" 

"Oh. What organization." 

"Indiewire l believe." 

"Okay. Thank you". Gary walked away, suddenly a wave of gratitude hit up due to having the week off for this incredible festival. Too many times he felt ignored or cast away from friends and family. Movies were the only escape; the late nights watching Pacino or Brando stealing the scene, their confident voices masking his own: give up and dont resist. As he went to the back of the line, he checked his phone to see the article; a black, minamilist page written by Camila Parker. It read as: 

A Debut Worth To Look Out For Janurary 25, 2011  ★★★★★

"Margin Call" begins on a day at an unnamed investment firm that must certainly have an inkling of what's coming, since 80 percent of the work force is laid off. One of the victims is Eric (Stanley Tucci), a senior risk analyst who like many of his colleagues was incapable of seeing that the real estate market was built as a house of cards. Although writer-director J.C. Chandor's film has sympathy for most of its characters, it is important to remember that they all felt they had to play along with the deals that were bringing their firms such huge profits and bonuses.

On his way out the door, Eric slips a USB drive to Peter (Zachary Quinto), a younger analyst who wasn't fired. There's information on it that disturbs him. So it should. While the office is empty, and the survivors are out partying to celebrate not being fired, Peter realizes the firm and the market are clearly trembling on the brink. He contacts his supervisor, Will (Paul Bettany), who takes one look and calls his boss, Sam (Kevin Spacey). Others are called in for an all-night emergency meeting until at dawn as a helicopter brings in CEO John Tuld (Jeremy Irons).

You don't need to understand a lot about the markets to follow the film. John is a cool, polished Brit who likes to say things like, "Speak to me in plain terms," because his job requires him to manage the corporation but not necessarily understand its business. Indeed, as we now know, a fresh young college graduate could have looked at the balance sheets and clearly seen Wall Street was doomed.

It is up to John to make the margin call. In other words, to order his company to start dumping worthless holdings before the word spread that they are worthless — essentially, betraying their customers. It has now been established that some firms created hedge funds intended to fail, so they could make money betting against them. These they sold to their customers knowing they were worthless.

I think the movie is about how its characters are concerned only by the welfare of their corporations. There is no larger sense of the public good. Corporations are amoral, and exist to survive and succeed, at whatever human cost. This is what the Occupy Wall Street protesters are angry about: They are not against capitalism, but about Wall Street dishonesty and greed. 

Furthermore, it explores the greed of new employees and one of them is my favourite: Seth Bregman played by Ryan Stone. It is Stone's first feature length film—a fact that stumped everyone in the Q&A—an exciting debut film to be part of. Ryan doesn't over act or rush his lines at all, surprising for someone who has not been in drama school. It is the crying scene that showcased his talent because Ryan did justice to the character. The guttural sobs showed how much it meant to him. You just need to see it and if not then Looper would be an exciting summer release to show the young actor's full charisma as the lead.