Margin Call: Cinema Is Often

Margin Call:

Cinema is often used to provide metaphorical insight into society, and sometimes attempts to explain why things are as they are and what led to society's current state. While documentaries are often used to provide insight into these societal issues, there are fictional films based on true events that not only dramatize what has happened, but does so in a realistic fashion that not only informs the audience, but also allows them to understand a certain situation or problem. Margin Call (2011), directed by J.C. Chandor, successfully explains the event that triggered the current economic recession in 1998. Through Margin Call's (2011) narrative, aesthetic approach, and overarching message, Chandor is able to effectively explain the influence of large corporations on the economy in a clear and concise, and realistic, manner.

It has often proven difficult to portray financial crises in film realistically. In "Filming the Crisis: A Survey," Jeff Kinkle and Alberto Toscano (2011) maintain, "Whether in fiction or documentary, the temptation has been not so much to dramatize as to personify systemic and impersonal phenomena" (p. 39). Kinkle and Toscano (2011) believe that it is easy to dramatize events and people, which can lead to an unrealistic portrayal thereof, however, it becomes increasingly important to be able to personify events, that is, to realistically portray what has occurred without overdramatizing the events, in order to be effective in communicating a director's message to the viewer.

Margin Call (2011) focuses on a fictionalized trading firm that must determine how to approach a crash in the market that had been scheduled to occur within 24 hours. In the film, Chandor demonstrates how the news of an impending crash is handled from the moment the information is analyzed to the various meetings with department heads, and finally to the presentation of information to the trading firm's CEO. The film also demonstrates the impact that the market crash had on the employees of the firm, which resulted in massive lay-offs, a trend that would be seen across the United States in countless industries. The film ultimately allows the viewer to not only better understand the events that led up to the market crash, and the decision-making process of the trading firm. Furthermore, the film allows viewers to better understand the cyclical nature of the economy and how the banking industry is reliant on consumers as much as consumers are dependent on the banking industry.

Through the creation of Margin Call (2011), J.C. Chandor attempts to bring to light not only what occurred, but also how it occurred and how it was handled. In "How Margin Call Gets it Right About the Financial Crisis," Daniel Krauthammer (2011) explains, [Margin Call] examines the thoughts and motivations of individuals, resisting the easy narrative shortcut of lumping everyone responsible for the disaster into some monolithic, single-minded group. By doing so, Margin Call manages to do what almost no book, blog, newscast or Senate hearing had adequately done for the American people: to explain not just how the financial crisis happened (which financial giants failed in what order, which government entities bailed them out, etc.), but rather to explain why it happened.

It is because of this narrative approach that Chandor is able to successfully create a realistic interpretation of events that led to the financial crisis and economic recession. Chandor avoids overdramatizing events in this manner by demonstrating how the financial crisis was handled within the firm, and the difficult decisions that had to be made by individuals independently. Had the character in Margin Call (2011) been a monolithic, single-minded group, they would not have been focused solely on their individual successes -- and the successes of the firm. On the contrary, they recognize that if they are not the first firm to make the decision to trigger the financial crisis, they will not avoid it, but rather another bank will be responsible for triggering the crisis; ultimately, the crisis cannot be avoided, it can only be controlled in terms of when and how it will be triggered. While Chandor waters down the details of what caused the financial meltdown, he does so in order to avoid further confusion and continue to complicate an already puzzling and complex problem.

Margin Call's (2011) narrative structure is simplistic, yet effective, and helps to set the tone of the film. Chandor explains, "What I tried to do was absolutely isolate the viewer with this very limited group of people on a night where they have to stay amongst themselves. There is this obvious sense of paranoia over the story getting out, that this piece of information will be released" (Marks, 2011). Chandor chooses to focus on a core cast of characters that focuses on eight key players, in order of descending seniority -- John Tuld, CEO and Chairman of the Board; Jared Cohen, Head of Capital Markets; Sam Rogers, Head of Sales and Trading; Will Emerson, Head of Trading; Peter Sullivan, Senior Risk Analyst; Seth Bregman, Junior Risk Analyst; and Eric Dale, former Head of Risk Management, and Sarah Robertson, (former) Chief Risk Management Officer, both of whom are fired within the 24-hour time lapse of the film, Dale at the beginning of the film and Robertson at the end of the board meeting that determined how the firm was going to proceed with the information Dale and Sullivan calculated (Margin Call, 2011). By keeping the cast of characters limited, Chandor emphasizes the paranoia of the financial industry. The decisions made by these characters appears to be secretive because of the urgency with which decisions are handled and because they are the only ones that know what is going to happen and what needs to be done the next business day to save their trading firm. This paranoia is brought to a head through their need to contain the dissemination of this information, which leads them to coerce Dale into sequestration for the day because they fear that he poses a risk and will warn other trading firms of his former employers' of the impending market crash. Paranoia is also emphasized through the film's mise-en-scene. All the decisions and meetings take place behind closed doors in confined boardrooms that are harshly lit by spotlights that hang above the conference table.

Additionally, Margin Call (2011) avoids narrative pitfalls of dramatization in which a director or writer will use tropes in an attempt to relay his or her message. Kinkle and Toscano (2011) argue, "Filmmakers have struggled to incorporate economic turmoil into their works without reverting to longstanding and ultimately comforting tropes: families reuniting to overcome hardship, the machismo and malevolence of stockholders, the corrosive power of greed" (p. 39). Margin Call (2011) avoids these tropes by emphasizing that the events and decisions that take place in film, which spans 24-36 hours, are quotidian activities. The film focuses on risk analysts, traders, and various department heads as they perform their duties and tasks within the firm. These characters are working together in an attempt to avoid bankrupting the firm. They are not concerned with personal gain or the gains of their investors, but rather their attentions are focused on ensuring the survival of their firm, even if it costs them millions of dollars and so long as they do not have to declare bankruptcy. Even if they are successful, there is no guarantee that they will be employed after the day is over, as is demonstrated through the characters of Seth Bergman, played by Penn Badgely, a junior analyst who helps bring attention to the impending market crash, and Sarah Robertson, played by Demi Moore, a Chief Risk Management Officer, who had forewarned the CEO that a crash was imminent weeks before it occurred. Had the film focused on traditional tropes, it would have treated other characters differently. For instance, Eric Dale, played by Stanley Tucci, is laid off at the beginning of the film and it is revealed that he has been analyzing the formulas and market trends which led up to the market crash, but was let go from the firm before he could bring the impending crisis up to any of his superiors. Had Margin Call (2011) fallen into the pitfall of using comforting tropes, Dale would have been rewarded for passing on the information to an analyst that could investigate it further and bring attention to the findings; however, Dale is not given a second opportunity, but rather is sequestered for the day by the firm so that he does give others advance notice of the impending financial crash. Another example is Sam Rogers, played by Kevin Spacey, the Head of Sales and Trading at the firm; the film not only focuses on his duties as Head of Sales and Trading, but also depicts the character realistically through his vulnerability. Rogers is the only character in the film that Chandor provides additional intimacy; Rogers is seen visiting the veterinarian's office because his dog is dying and is shown burying his beloved pet at the end of the day. Through the humanization of the stockbroker, Chandor allows the audience to view them as human and someone that the audience can relate to.

The realism of Margin Call (2011) extends beyond the depictions of its characters and into its portrayal of the financial industry. J.S. (2011) writes, "Margin Call…depicts the many banalities that make for a financial meltdown, and the near-silent panic that sets in. Finance is depicted as slippery and amorphous, a creation of not just the banks, but of a whole society oriented toward easy consumption." In this respect, Margin Call (2011) strips away the mystical facade that often is attributed to Wall Street and allows the viewer to see how they influence the financial market as much as they are influenced by it. Furthermore, the dialogue and financial terminology used by Chandor in the film is accurate investment banking jargon, which Chandor was familiar with because his family is personally involved in the banking industry; Chandor's father worked for Merril Lynch, thus Chandor understands the inner workings of the banking industry and knows how to present this sector in such a way that others will not be confused by how and what he presents on screen (LaRoche, 2011).

Furthermore, the "epistemological distance between the players and the rest of the world is emphasized in the shooting style: flattened, digitally cool, and visually dry" (Clover, 2012, p. 8). Chandor does not rely on extraneous effects or locations and aims to depict the activities in the film as they would occur in real life. Chandor deliberately wrote the film to be shot in a single location, which was then shot at One Penn Plaza at a former hedge fund office (LaRoche, 2011). Opting to shoot at a location previously associated with the activities of a trading firm creates a realistic and believable environment, especially when shots focus on the world outside the office. Additionally, the office itself, where trading takes place and analysts perform their duties, is meticulously cluttered with workstations and file boxes. Chandor also opted to focus solely on the action on the screen as it would happen in real life. There is no non-diegetic sound utilized, which helps to emphasize the reality that Chandor attempts to create within this fictional realm.

Margin Call's (2011) realistic setting also enables Chandor to realistically depict the relationships between people in the financial industry. Rabiger and Hurbis-Cherrier (2013) note, "At a critical plot point, the firm's CEO appeals to Sam Rogers, the firm's best sales manager, to direct his team to dump the toxic assets -- a strategy which Sam is morally opposed. This pivotal scene could have been in the CEO's office but Chandor mad a brilliant choice and set it instead in the men's bathroom" (p. 108). Chandor's decision to have this interaction take place in an intimate setting personalizes the relationship between Rogers and Tuld, the CEO, because it allows them to interact with each other away from the confines of the conference room that is drenched with paranoia. Chandor uses the bathroom setting a second time when Seth Bregman approaches Jared Cohen knowing that at the end of the day he will be unemployed, which is devastating to him not because of the materialism and personal profit associated with the job, but because he truly loves what he does (Margin Call, 2011). This interaction is also intimate because it allows Bregman to be vulnerable to a senior employee in the firm without attempting to brown-nose or to attempt to save his job. Rabiger and Hurbis-Cherrier (2013) contend that Chandor's use of bathroom interactions "humanizes world-altering decisions taking place and reminds us that economic shifts are not forces of nature, but choices made by ordinary people" (p. 108). On a different level, using the bathroom as a secondary location where important decisions are made also allows the viewer to see how some of the most important decisions that are made by executives occur outside the boardroom and on the proverbial golf course.