2015 ( USA ) ( Biography, Comedy, Drama )
STARRING: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling
DIRECTOR: Adam McKay
Swinging masterfully between irreverence and incredulity, The Big Short courageously tells the story of the men who saw the 2008 financial crash coming and decided to bet it all on global economic catastrophe. The charismatic cast are uniformly superb; Christian Bale and Steve Carell’s hedge fund managers are a bundle of neuroses while Ryan Gosling steals the show as a ruthless trader. Meanwhile producer Brad Pitt is quietly impressive as an ex-banker pulled back into the game. Deftly drawing out the moral compromises, obstructive complexities and unbelievable injustices of this risky business, the film manages to be entertaining and accessible as well as frighteningly credible.
Winner of an Oscar for best adapted screenplay, The Big Short approaches a serious, complicated subject with an impressive attention to detail, and manages to deliver a well-acted, scathingly funny indictment of its real-life villains.
(2hr 10min)