Finally, a Realistic Portrayal of Wall Street (Economist)

Margin Call, the new Wall Street film that tells the story of an anonymous investment bank’s near-collapse, avoids the hyperbole and in-your-face aggression that defines so many finance films (think: Wall Street), and that’s precisely why it succeeds, argues an Economist blogger. The film opens with the firing of one of the senior employees at a fictional bulge bracket bank, then tracks events at the firm over the next 24 hours, after the analyst who picks up his boss’s work discovers that real-world events are about to topple their reliable, money-making formula. The quiet realism that pervades the film makes it all the more startling.