Directed by:
Adam McKayCinematography:
Barry AckroydComposer:
Nicholas BritellCast:
Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Marisa Tomei, Finn Wittrock, Max Greenfield, Melissa Leo, Rafe Spall, Hamish Linklater, Byron Mann (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
In 2005, eccentric San Jose-based money manager and heavy-metal music enthusiast Michael Burry (Christian Bale) studies thousands of individual loans bundled into highly rated mortgage bonds and makes a startling discovery: The financial products are loaded with delinquent home loans certain to default over the next few years. While Wall Street bankers and government regulatory agencies ignore this ticking time bomb, Burry invents a financial instrument called the credit default swap in order to "short" the booming housing market — much to the dismay of his hedge fund's owners and investors. When slick young Wall Street banker Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) catches wind of Burry's strategy, he uses a tower of tumbling Jenga blocks to persuade hot-tempered hedge-fund manager Mark Baum (Steve Carell) that he too should invest millions in credit default swaps. Initially skeptical, Baum and his contentious team of wise-cracking young analysts (Jeremy Strong, Hamish Linklater and Rafe Spall) undertake their own investigation. Researching the housing market in Florida, they interview glib mortgage brokers who routinely obtain loans for grossly under-qualified home buyers and a strip-club dancer who's made zero-down-payment purchases of multiple properties. Meanwhile, 20-something money managers Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) and Charlie Geller (John Magaro) also stumble upon the housing-market bubble. Hoping to break into the financial big leagues, they're distressed to find their $30 million fund falls almost $1.5 billion short of the requirements needed for a seat at the grownups' table. So they enlist banker-turned-environmental-doomsayer Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt), who uses his connections to help them make their own bet against Wall Street. By the time the market finally crashes in 2008, these contrarian investors will make billions yet will be forever changed by their experience. But while the financial institutions whose reckless behavior caused the problem are bailed out by U.S. taxpayers, millions of Americans lose their homes, their jobs and their retirement savings in an economic catastrophe whose effects are still being felt today. (Paramount Pictures)
(more)Awards
- Winner
- Nominations
Academy Awards
- 2016 - Adam McKay, Charles Randolph (Best Adapted Screenplay)
- 2016 - Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner (Best Motion Picture of the Year)
- 2016 - Adam McKay (Best Achievement in Directing)
- 2016 - Christian Bale (Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role)
- 2016 - Hank Corwin (Best Achievement in Film Editing)
British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)
- 2016 - Adam McKay, Charles Randolph (Best Adapted Screenplay)
- 2016 - Best Film
- 2016 - Adam McKay (Best Director)
- 2016 - Christian Bale (Best Supporting Actor)
- 2016 - Best Editing
Robert Awards (Danish Film Awards)
- 2017 - Adam McKay (Best American Film)
AACTA International Awards
- 2016 - Best Film
- 2016 - Adam McKay (Best Direction)
- 2016 - Steve Carell (Best Actor)
- 2016 - Christian Bale (Best Supporting Actor)
Golden Globes
- 2016 - Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
- 2016 - Adam McKay, Charles Randolph (Best Screenplay)
- 2016 - Christian Bale (Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy)
- 2016 - Steve Carell (Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy)
Critics Choice Awards
- 2016 - Adam McKay, Charles Randolph (Best Adapted Screenplay)
- 2016 - Best Comedy
- 2016 - Christian Bale (Best Actor in a Comedy Movie)
- 2016 - Best Picture
- 2016 - Best Acting Ensemble
- 2016 - Hank Corwin (Best Editing)
- 2016 - Steve Carell (Best Actor in a Comedy Movie)
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards
- 2015 - Adam McKay, Charles Randolph (Best Adapted Screenplay)
- 2015 - Best Film
- 2015 - Best Ensemble Cast
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
- 2015 - Best Editing