I like it a lot.

Disappointing movie. Script was lacking and it made for a boring movie save for the cast who tried their damnedest to make the movie palatable.

5/10 (C-)

How was it lacking?

I thought the scope was too limited. The focus shouldn't have been entirely on the company. Instead, they could have inserted a small amount of time dedicated to enlightening us as to how much people would be affected by this crisis. Instead, they just place 2 sacrificial lambs in a room and they cut to another scene.

Also, while Sam tried to play up the emotional side of things, they sure treated their clients like dirt when they conned them into buying useless stock. I didn't feel any sympathy for the characters. Instead, I felt that they were greedy sons of bitches. It made the movie one dimensional and made the characters seem one note. It turned an interesting premise to a flat one.

The ending was a mess. They did a poor job of conveying their message. I still don't know what they want the viewer to get out of that ending with the dog burial. Unless if there was no message and they are just explaining how one company started the economic crisis of 2008, which would make the movie a colossal waste of time.

While those comments may seem harsh, I was somewhat entertained but those scenes left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.

The film is a parable: the company represents, pars pro toto, all such companies; and the dog, most obviously, is a metaphor for the entire economy. The things you criticize all result from deliberate choices designed to make a point. Some, like the dog (who has two functions), are more obvious; others are a little more subtle.

To show the outside consequences of the decisions made by the management, however, would simply be redundant: you see them on television every day.

Magnus is stupid and horribly acted.

Well its a solid film, however just because it has relevant subject matter to todays problems does not automatically make it a great film.

I like the film and this and Inside job should be req viewing for Finance students imo...

Solid movie. It's not the most cinematic experience ever--it's very hard to present this material in a cinematic way short of turning it into a stylish macho fantasy the way Oliver Stone did with Wall Street--but the dialogue is intelligent and involving, and there are a couple terrific performances. Jeremy Irons is best in show; ruthless, magisterial, and compelling. Kevin Spacey also shines, as the movie's anxious conscience, and it's a treat to see Paul Bettany in a movie where he isn't donning leftover-from-The-Matrix leather and fighting angels or vampires. He gives a very entertaining performance as a mid-level trader, all tics and hungry ambition and wit. A few other members of the ensemble are less impressive, though. Demi Moore's performance is completely vacant; she's clearly just reading the lines, not breathing anything--ache, anger, pleasure--into them. And Zachary Quinto is a bit too reserved as the film's "protagonist," i.e. the audience surrogate. He's dull and can't hold the screen against Irons, Spacey, and Bettany.

A satisfying, small picture. And certainly very timely. If it enters the Oscar equation at all, I feel it should be for Irons in Best Supporting Actor and maybe Best Original Screenplay.

B

Margin Call has a very good script behind it that leads us through a quick, yet noticeable downfall of a company within a mere 24 hours. It keeps you going the entire way through but maybe an extra twist, something else missed in the equation, could have given it a little extra oomph. **1/2

Liked it quite a bit.

A-

Great, overlooked film that, I am sure, will grow in appreciation a lot over the years. It is timely, precise to the point, with a razor-sharp screenplay and a cast that mostly kills it. It seems to oversimplify things from time to time, in order for the viewers to follow it more easily, but I can live with that. The final scene with Spacey and the dog wasn't necessary either, but aside from that, it really hits all the right beats. Margin Call makes for a TERRIFIC double feature with the Oscar-winning documentary Inside Job (in fact, the first time I saw Inside Job, I watched it back-to-back with Margin Call).