'The Big Short' Review

Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director; Adam McKay, Best Supporting Actor; Christian Bale, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.
Won: Best Adapted Screenplay.

The Big Short was the last of the Best Picture nominees for me to see and review and I was pleasantly surprised by the film. I wasn't expecting too much given the subject matter is about crunching numbers and the collapse of the housing market prior to the Stock Market crash in the late 2000's.

Adam McKay directs the film and even cowrote the film along with Charles Randolph. The directorial style is quite unique and charming and I especially liked the use of "breaking the fourth wall," which is when a character is speaking directly to the audience halting the actual story. The writing was incredibly sophisticated and well thought out highlighting the severity of the situation. Adam McKay was quite clever by inserting celebrity cameos for dual purpose of both comedy as well as simplified explanations for the more complicated financial terminology.

In regards to the film's performances, The Big Short is certainly an ensemble performance piece. I was surprised to see that the A-list actors were primarily separated into individual pieces of the narrative thread and never all interacted with one another. It's interesting because there isn't quite one single protagonist since the story follows multiple characters individually. Christian Bale brings a level of humanity and a snarky disposition in his role that makes his character of Micheal Burry feel real. Burry could have easily been captured as the social awkward intellectual genius that has a disability, but Bale rose above that and made the role more than that.

Steve Carell gives what may be his best dramatic performance ever as the temperamental Michael Baum and has some fantastic grounded, emotional scenes that will strike a chord with the audience and connect them to Baum. Finn Whittrock and John Magaro both portray the other integral characters in the story, Jamie Shipley and Charlie Geller, who manage to stand out aside the more experienced cast members. Ryan Gosling's role is very limited but he's hilarious when onscreen and functions as a great guide for the viewer a little similar to Leonardo DiCaprio's character in The Wolf Of Wall Street. Brad Pitt also has a limited supporting role as an ex-Wall Street Investor determined to stay off the grid and is practically a germaphobe but fills the role quite nicely.

In short (no pun intended), The Big Short is a tremendous adaptation with some terrific writing and a star studded ensemble cast. I'd highly recommend it for anyone who would be interested in learning about the housing market crash and also to those looking to check out all the Best Picture nominees.

Film Assessment: A-