The Big Short stars Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carrell and Brad Pitt. Adam McKay, Anchorman, directs a funny and significant drama that documents the 2008 collapse of the housing market, and the corruption that was going on behind the scenes. With several people able to catch on to the cracks in the porcelain, The Big Short is a very interesting film which sheds light on the financial cunning of these people, but still respects the severity of the financial collapse. The Big Short is a solid film that succeeds based on the performances of Christian Bale and Steve Carrell and some very slick writing. However it is not without its flaws, as its direction is hit or miss.
This movie is quite entertaining, but has a style and feel that can get exhausting. Some of McKay's decisions as a director were hit or miss. McKay makes some interesting choices as the director, some of which pay off and others do not. The camera work in this movie was a genuine flaw, and displays one of McKay's weaknesses in the films direction. The "documentary" style zooms and cuts and lack of clean cut visuals seemed like a gimmick, and didn't enhance the filmgoing experience so much as it detracted. However, a clever choice that McKay made which paid off more often than not, was the use of celebrity cameos as a way of breaking the "4th wall" and connecting with the directly. These cameos featured current celebrities explaining the inner-workings of the complicated U.S. economy through analogies and comedic references, and they were an overall clever idea. The Big Short is the beneficiary of a fantastic script, rich with snappy dialogue that is nearly Aaron Sorkin worthy, and very engrossing. I myself have no knowledge of the financial string of events that contributed to the housing market crash in 2008, however this movie was still intriguing besides its complicated subject matter. This movie is a lot of fun, and is full of clever quips and solid comedic dialogue that somewhat satirizes the entire situation, yet this film still greatly emphasizes the significance of the corruption and greed which caused this epic collapse. Being able to make levity of a bad situation, yet also respect its importance and current relevance, is no small feat.
Christian Bale and Steve Carrell were by far the brightest spots in this film from an acting standpoint. While these dynamic actors never share a scene, they bring a very unique imagining of their characters, and its their uniqueness but also relatability that makes their performances stand out. Ryan Gosling is essentially Ryan Gosling in this role, a slick and fun character who lacks depth. Unlike some of his finer roles, Gosling is basically playing himself from Crazy Stupid Love, which is fine, but nothing we haven't seen before from the immensely talented actor. Brad Pitt was in it for a moment or two, did just fine. The smaller, supporting performances were also quite good, and coupled with the great writing, The Big Short is a pretty good movie, but held back by gimmicky camera work and some questionable directing.
B+