‘The Big Short’, directed by Adam Mckay, recounts the story of four inhabitants in the world of finance who bet against the housing market in the mid-2000’s and take advantage of the economical collapse that they’ve predicted.
This film is literally a master-piece, everything in it is just on point and there are so many things I just adored .
One of them is the editing [sound and video]; it is neat yet messy, it suits the theme of the film, it follows the mood of each scenes and enhances it [for instance, in some scenes, the cuts are fast, in other scenes, the cuts are slow]. Moreover, I really loved the image and video inserts, it does not make the film look cheap, in the contrary, I think they suit perfectly with the other elements of the film and with the theme.
On a side note, the soundtrack selection is excellent and accompanies the actions very well.
The camera movement complements superbly the editing. It is very documentary-like; it follows the characters’ actions, pans from one character to another, zooms in from a medium shot to an extreme close up yet it is very smooth and not bothering at all. Even though, this kind of cinematography is not unique and was used by many other directors, it doesn’t work for all types of films but for ‘The Big Short’, this approach is great, it intensifies the drama and gives it a more realistic feel.
Another thing that I loved is the screenplay: I am not really into financial/economical movies but the way this one was built and developed is amazing. I really loved the characters, they are very realistic so you can easily relate to them: like all human beings, they have flaws and qualities, they have strong personalities with many facets and they are very complex which makes them real. Furthermore, I loved the fact that some of the them talk directly to the audience, breaking the fourth wall; it is not awkward or even useless like some other films and it was not overly-done.
Finally, I loved the acting and I was so impressed by the performance of Steve Carell: I know that he usually acts in comedies, so seeing him act in a serious movie with a serious role really astonished me, especially that he can actually pull it off. The performances of the three other main actors are also just breathtaking; they really knew how to bring their characters to life.
Basically, if you haven’t watched this film, what are you waiting for?
