Between Republican Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, the socialist
seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, beating up on Wall
Street appears to be striking a chord with some voters.
Similarly, the Oscar-nominated film, "The Big Short," is finding fans
among moviegoers and critics alike. I was pleasantly surprised how well
the movie, starring Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, Steve Carell and Ryan
Gosling, held my attention.
As others have noted, the adaptation of the bestselling book by Michael
Lewis takes the
Even for those among us who were trying to understand and explain what
was happening in 2007 and '08, the movie offers some compelling personal
stories associated with the meltdown, which the main characters saw
coming.
I wasn't certain whether my wife, who doesn't have a career in the
economics/financial world, would like the movie, but she really did.
That it has wide appeal helps explain why the showing we attended was
nearly sold out.
I've seen some friends posting to social media saying that the movie
angered or frightened them. One of the takeaways at the end (not a
spoiler) is the suggestion that the response to the crisis likely won't
prevent something similar from happening in the future.
Along with "The Big Short," here are some other entertaining films from
the past few decades that have taken an often grim view of high
finance.
"Too Big To Fail" was made by HBO and first aired in 2011 based on a
book by Andrew Ross Sorkin. This story, also based on true events, stars
William Hurt as then-Treasury Secretary "Hank" Paulson and Paul
Giamatti as then-Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.
There are plenty of banking CEOs portrayed in the docudrama as well.
This one doesn't have the laugh-out loud quotient that "The Big Short"
boasts. Most memorable for me was the scene where Paulson has to run to
the bathroom during the height of the crisis to throw up, while Giamatti
does a good job showing Bernanke as remarkably cool, which he tends to
be.
"Wall Street," starring Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen and directed
by Oliver Stone, was released in December 1987. That was just two months
after the short-lived market crash. The fictional storyline focuses on
insider trading.
One of the most enduring scenes in the movie includes Douglas (as the
slick and ruthless investor, corporate raider Gordon Gekko) proclaiming
"greed, for lack of a better word, is good." The movie purportedly had
the unintended consequence of turning Gekko into a role model for some.
"Barbarians at the Gate" features the late James Garner in the
real-life story surrounding the buyout of food and tobacco giant RJR
Nabisco. This one also has its share of dark humor but is thoroughly
entertaining, especially if one is interested in financial markets and
corporate drama.
Made in 1993, it might appear dated to some viewers now, but the themes remain as relevant as before.
"Wolf of Wall Street," released fairly recently in 2013 and directed by
the great Martin Scorsese, charts the rise and fall of stockbroker
Jordan Belfort, portrayed in a Golden Globe-winning performance by
Leonardo DiCaprio.
The movie was based on Belfort's memoir. With scenes portraying sex and
drug abuse, this isn't a movie to be viewed with children or perhaps
the in-laws. But like almost all of the others on this list, "Wolf of
Wall Street," shows the seamier side of the financial sector.
Mark Hamrick is Washington Bureau Chief and Senior Economic Analyst for Bankrate.com,
operating out of the National Press Building in the shadow of the White
House and U.S. Treasury. He is a national award-winning business and
financial news journalist, who came to Bankrate after leading business
news for Broadcast at The Associated Press in Washington for nearly 20
years. Mark is a former president of the National Press Club and an
officer with the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.
Follow him on Twitter: @Hamrickisms
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