Margin Call
The Margin Call is one of the tightest films ever made. Every scene and every line serve a purpose. No time is wasted with the exposition. Focus is on how people justify the evil deed they participate and their internal struggles in an almost impressionistic way, yet you can construct a consistent and surprisingly rich backstory from the subtext. I have watched it too many times, and noticed more details with almost every watch. Characters Let's start with a recap of characters in the corporate bottom up order: Seth is a junior risk management analyst. He likes his job and has enough skills to survive, but he cannot read the room well, and he is too nosey. He doesn't have any agency, and his sympathy for other people is not genuine. Peter is a risk management analyst. He moved from academia to finance because of the money. He has sympathy for people around him, but he is also swayed easily by charismatic and powerful people, and he is lured by the considera...