The film is set around a fictional bank's risk management team where a number of employees are being made redundant including Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci) who heads risk management on the floor in question. Before leaving the building, Dale hands a USB stick to his risk analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) and asks him to finish a project that he has been doing.
Sullivan takes a look and discovers that the firm is on the brink of financial ruin due to toxic assets. He informs Will Emerson (Paul Bettany) who is the head of trading floor and realising how serious the matter is, reports the findings to floor head Sam Rogers (Kevin Spacey).
The story moves onto what the firm can do to essentially save itself with other senior staff members becoming involved over the course of the 36 hours the film is set in.
This is a really interesting film in that it plays down the glamourous element of banking that films such as Wall Street epitomise. There are strong human elements in this film, you easily identify with all of the characters and their flaws. From the rookie analyst who is about to lose their dream job, to the senior executive who just wants to get a life back, they are all well developed, fully rounded characters.
The script is tight, intelligent and realistic. Although I found some of the financial jargon confusing, it wasn't really an issue as the film moved along swiftly.
The cast were fantastic with standout performances from Spacey and Jeremy Irons who played the sinister CEO with panache.
Verdict: For me, this was an engaging, tense and thought-provoking film which stays with you for some time. Brilliant performances from all cast members, but in particular Quinto's over waxed eyebrows... The best film about Wall Street that I have watched and it was thoroughly enjoyable.
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