Cash 'n' carry: Jonah Hill (l.), Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie and Jon Bernthal in Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street."
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 complicated factors behind the financial crisis, adds some gritty, occasionally dark humor, and manages to inform and entertain at the same time.
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.
Steve Carell (l.) stares down Ryan Gosling in the Oscar-nominated "The Big Short."
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.
Greed wasn't all that good for characters played by Michael Douglas (l.) and Charlie Sheen in 1987's "Wall Street."
"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[1], 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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References
- ^ Bankrate.com (Bankrate.com)
- ^ click here. (nydailynews.com)
- ^ daily views (www.nydailynews.com)
