Rating: Country: USA Release Date: October 21, 2011 Distributor: Lionsgate Director: · J.C. Chandor Cast: · Zachary Quinto · Kevin Spacey · Paul Bettany · Jeremy Irons · Stanley Tucci · Simon Baker · Demi Moore · Mary McDonnell Related Sites: · Official Site · IMDb: Margin Call Grade: A

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"Margin Call" is not a film for the type of moviegoer who looks forward to the latest unoriginal Hollywood remake. If that's your thinking, you might as well quit reading this now. But if you're a fan of thought-provoking films that succeed on great actors doing what they do best, then "Margin Call" might be the best movie you'll see this year.

The film takes place almost entirely at the offices of a financial institution that is purposefully left unnamed -- it might be your company. As the film begins, we find the company "tightening their belt," "trimming the fat," or whatever poor substitute for layoffs you'd prefer. Among those cut are Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci), the firm's head of Risk Assessment. On his way out the door he is met by one of his staffers, Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto). He hands him a thumb drive and says, "I was working on this when they cut me loose. Take a look, see what you think. Be careful." Intrigued, Sullivan checks out the drive and his discovery alters the course of the firm and his own life dramatically.

Within hours, the leaders of the company begin to assemble in the wee hours of the night. His bosses, Will Emerson (Paul Bettany) and Sam Rogers (Kevin Spacey) arrive first to get a handle on the situation, and quickly learn that they're facing the proverbial worst case scenario. Eventually the next level of management trickle in, including Jared Cohen (Simon Baker) and Sarah Robertson (Demi Moore). Finally John Tuld (Jeremy Irons), the head of the company, arrives with the whole Board of Directors in tow. After some discussion, he decides on a course of action that he knows will send the company into a nosedive and challenge the moral fiber of his top employees.

The sum total of action in "Margin Call" comes when Stanley Tucci attempts to call his wife after being let go. The company had already cut off his phone, and he spikes it like a football. That's it, about 10 minutes in. Sounds boring? You couldn't be more wrong. It's arresting, and that is thanks to the top talent in this picture. Tucci's not in it a great deal but he has some of the best moments in the film. Irons and Spacey are great, as always. Simon Baker uses the same American accent he uses in The Mentalist but his Jared Cohen lacks the calm, cool charisma of Patrick Jane here as he shamelessly fights to hold on to his place in the pecking order at the expense of Sarah Robertson. The standout performers were Zachary Quinto, showing he can do more than kill cheerleaders and raise Vulcan eyebrows, and Paul Bettany, who is one of those actors whose name never seems to come to you when you need it, but always impresses in everything he's in. Quinto also served as one of the film's producers. On the downside, only Mary McDonnell, as Sam's estranged wife, disappoints -- not in her acting but in that she's barely in it. I couldn't help but wonder if some of her scenes didn't end up on the cutting room floor. Director J.C. Chandor, in his first major feature, does a tremendous job. He manages to craft a film that could have been a staid series of talking heads but instead offers a taunt and surprisingly tense product. It feels like it should be an action movie, and succeeds despite the complete lack of explosions.

If you have ever worked in a corporate setting and been through layoffs or crisis moments, this film will really hit home. Based loosely on the real-life fall of companies like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, witnessing the cold, "Oh well, it's only money, if we don't do it first someone else will," mentality of corporate culture and gamesmanship played between overpaid executives to ensure that everyone else goes down in flames before they do should make you angry. That's a good thing, because if this film doesn't fire you up about the sorry state of the economy and borderline sociopaths who brought us to this moment, then you're either one of those that caused this mess or you were meant to be sitting in the next theater down the hall, watching some crappy remake of a television show.

I saw "Margin Call" at a Monday screening. On Tuesday, my day job (ironically also in the financial sector), gave approximately 25 people in my building a couple of cardboard boxes each and some papers to sign for their compensation packages. The economy went to Hell several years ago and we're still sliding. "Margin Call" should be a wake-up call for everyone.