6 Films About the Financial World You Need To Watch (While “The Wolf” is Not Around)

Margin Call (2011)

“There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter or cheat” John Tuld (Jeremy Irons).

This movie, also an exhilarating thriller –yet an indie production, shows the lives of several directives of an investment bank on the 24 hours that preceded the 2008 financial crisis. The events in the movie are triggered by a young analyst’s discovery: the company was leveraged with mortgage-backed securities to a point where it was no longer sustainable; volatility had gotten so high that the losses would widely surpass its market capitalization. Holding this information confronts him with the ruthlessness that can sometimes dominate the corporate world.

Interesting facts:
The investment bank featured in the film is vaguely modeled on Lehman Brothers.
House of Cards’ Kevin Spacey delivers an outstanding performance you should pay attention to.