The Big Short * * * * 1/2

The Big Short tells the story of a bunch of hard-working caring corporate bankers who were only trying to do the right thing by everyone, but things went badly for them. In the end, their banks went broke and the share-market went into free-fall.  There was a little bit of fall-out, like eight million people losing their jobs and two million losing their homes and a global financial crisis, but the Government came to the rescue of the corporate bankers and gave them all the hard earned taxes from honest working people, so the corporate bankers could make themselves feel better by giving themselves huge bonuses then start up their banks again.  

It took ten years to get over this mess.  But we learnt ……… nothing.  For as it stands. we might well see a repeat performance as the same banks invent new products to disguise the fact that they are lending money and playing with money without worrying about silly things like security and the ability of the borrower to repay.

Ten years ago when this immoral, disgraceful, thoroughly irresponsible event, was taking place, fueled by nothing but greed, a few hedge-fund operators did their homework and could see it was going to happen. They figured the mortgage giant had feet of clay.  So, what they basically did was bet. They took a position with the banks saying if the mortgage market goes down, you pay us. They went “Short”.  Rather like one does with foreign exchange. The banks thought it was the best deal they ever got as nothing is more secure than people’s mortgages and if the mortgage market continued to grow they would keep the hedge funds money.  As we all know now, the banks lost - big time.

This excellent film is the story of three small hedge fund firms and a banker who absolutely roasted the banks.  They’d gone short and, for them the sweetest thing that could happen is for the market to collapse.  When it did they realised profits as much as 489%!

Unfortunately, although these hedge fund managers could be regarded as the “heroes” of this film, they were no different from the banks. They too were motivated by greed. Worse, the only way they could win is for America to lose. It's a bit like noticing someone you love is receiving such dreadful care you'd be willing to bet they will die: and then kind of hoping they do.

The Big Short conveys the whole drama to us in a dramatic and educational way.  With occasional voice over and contributions from non-experts explaining to us what is happening in layman's terms.

Every performance is a winner: Steve Carell, Christian Bale as the head of different Hedge Funds. Brad Pitt as a banker who has walked away from it all out of disgust and is drawn back in as an advisor to a couple of young investors who too have got it figured, and Ryan Grossing as a banker who is in the thick of it but can see the way things are going. Without undue flamboyance they all come across as bordering on crazy, which is probably the kind of people they were. Socially inept geniuses of finance, having a unique ability to see that which thousands of experts could not see.  These people are not made up for the story. They are true.  Unfortunately so was the GFC and all its consequences.

The Big Short is like a film on war:  you shouldn’t find it entertaining, but you do.
The brilliant thing about The Big Short  is that it disgusts, angers, frightens and warns you more effectively than any serious documentary could.