Freefall

This film, about the 2008 financial crisis, tells its story through three main characters: Gus, the insipid banker who bundles mortgages into tradable assets - Dave, the subprime mortgage salesman who preys on impoverished families - and Jim, the hardworking security guard who falls prey to Jim's scheming. The thread connecting them gradually untangles, as the crisis unfolds in a cacophony of sound and fury.

Something that immediately strikes me about the movie is the way it depicts bankers. I personally know bankers, and they are exactly as this movie suggests: shallow, unfeeling sods with bizarre priorities. Indeed, I once knew a person exactly like Rosamund Pike's character - nuff said. See the movie.

The acting is outstanding, particularly by Dominic Cooper, Joseph Mawle, and Anna Maxwell Martin. Aidan Gillen and Rosamund Pike were inconsistent at best, but that is to be expected.

At the end, this is one of those movies that leaves you with much to think about, and - if you are like me - broiling with anger against the financial industry that made this crisis possible. In sum, this is the best movie about the financial crisis made thus far. Do yourself a favour, and go rent it.