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The Flaw

  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 18m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
864
YOUR RATING
The Flaw (2011)
Trailer for The Flaw
Play trailer2:37
1 Video
9 Photos
DocumentaryHistory

An examination of the causes of the economic crisis of 2008.An examination of the causes of the economic crisis of 2008.An examination of the causes of the economic crisis of 2008.

  • Director
    • David Sington
  • Stars
    • Andrew Luan
    • Robert Shiller
    • Louis Hyman
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    864
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • David Sington
    • Stars
      • Andrew Luan
      • Robert Shiller
      • Louis Hyman
    • 13User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    The Flaw
    Trailer 2:37
    The Flaw

    Photos8

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    Top Cast20

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    Andrew Luan
    • Self - Former Mortgage Bond Trader
    Robert Shiller
    Robert Shiller
    • Self - Professor of Economics, Yale University
    Louis Hyman
    Louis Hyman
    • Self - Economic Historian, Harvard University
    George Cooper
    • Self - Fund Manager, Blue Crest Capital
    Robert H. Frank
    • Self - Professor of Economics, Cornell University
    Nell Minow
    • Self - Corporate Watchdog, The Corporate Library
    Joseph Stiglitz
    • Self - Nobel Prize for Economics, Columbia University
    Dan Ariely
    Dan Ariely
    • Self - Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics, Duke University
    Ed Andrews
    • Self - Economics Correspondent, New York Times
    Antoinette Coffi-Ahibo
    • Self - Optician
    Steve Nahas
    • Self - Real Estate Investor
    Robert Wade
    • Self - Professor of Political Economy, London School of Economics
    Jim O'Neill
    • Self - Chief Economist, Goldman Sachs
    Rose Alfano
    • Self - Realtor
    Lawrence Citarello
    • Self - Real Estate Developer
    Sarah Ludwig
    • Self - Co-Director, NEDAP
    Jim Finkel
    • Self - Chief Executive Officer, Dynamic Credit Partners
    Josh Zinner
    • Self - Co-Director, NEDAP
    • Director
      • David Sington
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews13

    7.1864
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    Featured reviews

    Phil_Chester

    Riveting documentary

    Utterly fascinating and very well put together account of the true source of all that "bother" in 2008. Highly recommended. It would be wonderful to hope that we will learn lessons from this, but unfortunately human nature doesn't work like that. "Greed is good."
    4socjmh

    Lots of Equity focus, ignored Fed law that required banks to do this

    4 is a generous rating.

    This documentary spends too much time on inequity of pay. Frankly, if all pay increases, we don't care if someone else makes more.

    The housing index adjusted for inflation from 1890 was interesting.

    They pulled out tiny bits of Allen Greenspans congressional inquiry to make him look bad. They used it to cast doubt on capitalism without justifying or explaining what the actual failure was that caused the crisis.

    Banks loaned to people who should never have qualified for the loans. Yes. But why!? Banks would never do that because it puts them at risk. Underwriters would never do this if they were free to make their best decisions.

    This documentary makes it look like it's the banks who cooked up this idea to lend money to people without verifying income. That's false. Bill Clinton signed law requiring lending without checking. They wanted to NOT DiSCRIMINATE based on INCOME That is just stupid. Banks simply complied and then figured out a way to sell the unvetted loans... risk mitigation. It's exactly what any business would do when the government forces them into business practices that do not make financial sense.

    This had a lot of potential to enlighten about the 2008 fall, but it failed. I would not recommend this to my kids or anyone for a big picture of the 2008 banking crisis. It had agenda toward equity instead of focusing on the actual laws and resulting compliance that caused it.
    mikekansasmike

    Propaganda

    This is Communist propaganda. It omits so many of the actual catalysts for the 2008 collapse.

    I would not recommend watching this program. Watch The Big Short instead. Far more accurate and educational.
    5schreiber-stephen

    Scant documentary that every person should watch once

    The Flaw delivers the story of the causes of the financial crisis and what may have caused it. There is bias in this documentary but it isn't as overt as most documentaries. The great thing and the reason why I believe that everyone should watch this movie is that this documentary delivers a the information of the financial crisis in a format that is easy to digest and gives great visual representation of everything that lead up to the collapse. The flaw of The Flaw is that there are some stories and story lines that are personal to one or two people instead of a whole audience. These stories, in my opinion, are David Sington's attempt to elicit an emotional connection and reaction to what happened with the financial collapse. This makes the documentary feel more personal and allows the viewer to feel more connected to the issues. That said, that is part of what I am not a huge fan of with these types of documentaries. I personally would have rather just had the information and the graphs and charts showing what happened without the personal stories so that the movie wouldn't feel so biased. This is a good documentary that is a scant 78 minutes, has good information and is easy to get through.
    5moderator-862-914745

    Inadequate explanation

    A rather mild and weak explanation of the way people were duped before the 2008 crash and the sheer uncaring criminality of the suffering caused to many ordinary people who lost their homes, jobs and much more. For a more robust examination of and explanation of what went on, watch The Big Short instead, it's more entertaining and enlightening.

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    Related interests

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    History

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      Features It's Everybody's Business (1954)

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    FAQ13

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 3, 2011 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      • 1h 18m(78 min)
    • Color
      • Color

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