About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 2011)
KILL THE MARKET MARGIN CALL (R) There's no overt violence in Margin Call, director/writer J.C. Chandor's feature debut set during the early days of the 2008 Wall Street financial meltdown, but there is the corpse of capitalism to contend with. Taking place over a 24-hour period, the movie tosses us into a volatile day at an investment firm when a number of employees are being fired, including a risk management executive, Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci). Befure Dale leaves, though, he hands a USB drive to a younger executive, Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto), and warns him to be care ful with the information stored on it. What Sullivan finds is the firm's undo ing: the risk algorithms are no longer valid, and the company has been in free fall for days. It's only a matter of time before it all crashes to the ground. The information is passed on through the chain of command, all the way to C.E.O. John Tuld (Jeremy Irons), who races in to assess the damage. Heads roll. Margin Call rarely leaves the confines of the firm, and the visual dynamic is relegated to executives in suits standing around in offices talking. But Chandor manages to keep the tension coiled tight through most of it, and despite knowing how events transpired in the days and months to come, it's suspenseful stuff. How these execu tives conduct themselves in the boardrooms feels plausible, and Chandor seems to have a knack for how they talk and think. What he doesn't have, unfortunately, is the abil ity to turn this material into a truly brilliant drama, and one wonders what Sidney Lumet or Paddy Chayefsky would have crafted from the same material. Ultimately, it lacks snap, and there are several scenes when characters spout clunky narrative expositions or jnre- alistically pontificate on how they reached this precarious point, as when Sullivan and his co-worker (Penn Badgley) ruminate on the impend ing doom in the back of a luxury car. A later scene in an elevator—when executives Demi Moore and Simon Baker talk openly about the messy resolution they're about to unleash, ignoring the cleaning woman sandwiched between them— screeches the movie to a halt with its clumsy visual metaphor. The acting is solid, though, particularly Quinto and Kevin Spacey in defeated Jack Lemmon mode. But Margin Call feels too cool-headed for its own good. It lacks rage. There's certainly plenty to spare nowadays. Derek Hill Zachary Quinto HU6»0 A FLICfcSfclNNY Llirtt ec&m'j FLICfcSfclNNY.COM Of^ ; <\dt p q f\<\rbio 3co rceS-t. /qoVli^. / ait<l Ca Inert Ho bfancLeJ o</f fro/^ ibrooklyn Jas'cjskfs |Qo foce.: q boring period piece, here, m loisty biblical epic. f<\d lb £ee/v$ bv go I^e//. TIjiS /hash /Jo/t. fo c? fid prtSPy s^b'ios) -fetibuces BA oSpLa/\ (cdcle) w} Avdcty m c\ fra.Vi 5->h* ho sworn A fires pke, docks... hiy 1$ bbg. S balio/) Cop j who fa&nCAGjl 5 fz> yep »sli&cke<l M cro bck fio b f, </£, minub** i/i (check), for k.ds, fhep like, phab, fteA/i wl\ i l-c ■f'Z/Mej po fep°\' *4 olcl rdok, bo re-cit^c EYHOUND 0363 GREYHOUND 0232 GREYHOUND 0675 CREYHOUNO 0356 Doo-V C\id) Hi's i not/'C\a\\\ um bq af'evick ^ vjkW ticrfh phi Spec™ flksseS. LUt a beaOt(fj| ffl* (wmTVe UI-fccRS cm. SW>+ ofw g^o-rw ir\ * isyJfyP ■fcVA ]\h) lW hvw 'Tkab " mppj feei 2"! ■ ^oe^> 1 (AateiV -foTWVeS 4 bftWole&W fcj SUfo basest J'W WA ^ UOl ' n< i ajrlht ^ lTr«.\v\ <bW-h'oY> SeefA as g\a,f\o<oos «£> Lw’rg t ck\ In. loos SK-Hon UKS. ■ 'L 1i*. Utft> £^jAt\\t/i<y c*> % Holiday Craft Market Sunday, Dec. ltitb, 9am-3pm featuring local artists, holiday drinks, great music! Support your local businesses and artists! m Merry Christmasl^^r 1560 Oglethorpe Avenue Hew Year? New Career! ★ Resumes from $85 ★ Add a Linkedln Profile: $40 ★ 3-month Coaching Package (6 sessions). $475 ★ Weekly Group Coaching Meeting: $25/month Visit Athens' Newest Job Search Resource: AthensGACareerCoach.Com Cook Coaching & Consulting 217 College Square Building. 191 East Broad Street, Athens 706.363.0539 • @seancook sean@higheredcareercoach.com BUY A *25 GIFT CARD GOA FREE 90«>. SMOOTHIE! 5 Points 704.613.2400 Wests Idc Omni Club 704.-364.3111 (Membership not required to enter) MELAWCJr&LIA Kid ANf SJUSJl N A.«*v » —.vcoaMN«LL •* Moont tucci HHi MARGIN CALL E ‘Charming in a way that American romantic comedies have all but forgotten.” ‘Insanely romantic." T«* t r 4.lt.\M ( t/h Wr YoooiGocikeloL#** com t A R S VON T R11 R -nuAvr. vntvsc.i ani>hi urim i .WHM'NTiNt. as it is t;oit<;KH'v * ***** -« VSI rvtxcimosu . *VWl'AU.\ VH’VHtV. * .VCAHIHlWiLtKmK(H,CH' V *«< »>IHC I. > >MI~ cm BEAN BAGS • FUTONS • MATTRESSES PLATFORM BEDS • KIDS’ LOFTS BUNKBEDS • WATERBEDS UGA ROOM DECOR! * Open 6 Days 10-7 • 706.543.4323 Across from Georgia Square Mall southernwaterbeds.com h l DECEMBER 14,2011- FLAGPOLE.COM 11
