The Big Short

Finally watched The Big Short. This is a film with an agenda - and I enjoyed every minute of it. Usually I don't appreciate the writer/director pounding me over the head with their agendas. But this film was different.

Different first because of the use of unusual devices to help bring the viewer along on the journey of exploring and explaining mortgage backed securities, a topic that usually goes over my head. While the cinematic devices seemed cheesy, they nevertheless did a great job in keeping me from capsizing into the ditch.

Additionally, one could sensed that the creative talent all believed in the project. I can imagine a director reading this script and saying, "Forget it!" Just too off the wall to be successful. But when director McKay enlists the strong support of A-list actors Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale and Brad Pitt, something magical happens. These actors turned in interesting, even inspired performances in spite of the starts, stops, and asides necessary to explain the story.

It's a film worth seeing, first for the light it sheds on the whole financial mess involving mortgage backed securities, and for the unusual way in which this esoteric topic is handled by professional storytellers.

4 out 5 for me!