The Big Short (2015)

I've now seen this twice. The first time I watched it, I was hopped down on pneumonia meds and was varying levels of comatose, but I liked it. I was impressed by its ability to explain complex concepts in a way that was engaging, fun, decipherable thru a medicated, feverish fog, and yet artfully limited to what you need to know for the movie to work. I find finance a mix of immorality and opacity - and I suspect the latter exists to mask more former. But I had no trouble following these moments of exposition without feeling that they bogged down the movie.  And I thought the three or four educational inserts fit quite nicely into the movie's form and sense of irreverence. (Still, they probably could've thought of a better one than the supermodel-sitting-in-a-bathtub, which is neither clever nor titillating, and felt both times like an interlude from a lesser era.)

Watching the movie a second time, I was thoroughly impressed by its structure. The direction and editing (by Adam McKay and Hank Corwin, respectively) are top-shelf. The performances are all believably fantastic. And so are the performances: Christian Bale, who I'm normally not a fan of, excels here; Steve Carell further demonstrates his incredible talent; Ryan Gosling continues adding arguments to his claim as the best actor of this decade; and so many others.

My one complaint - the only thing keeping me from giving it a 5-star rating on Letterboxd - is that two times the music lays too heavily over the dialog. Once, it's intentional, I'm pretty sure, as Carell talks to his wife about his brother, but I don't like the effect. And in both cases, the effect is exaggerated because I really like the songs. That may be a weird compliant, but both times it pulled me out of the movie.

But that's really it, my only complaint, a mild one. This is superlative work, a complete success, a wonder.

終

4 stars; TV; March 26th.