Film: 

Margin Call follows the actions taken by a group of employees at a large investment bank during the financial collapse.  It focuses on a 36-hour period, which follows what happens after risk analysts Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) and Seth Bregman (Penn Badgely) discover something very important.  Their boss, Eric Dale (Stanely Tucci), is fired by an HR team conducting mass layoffs, which leads Eric to give Peter a USB drive.  This drive actual contains a project, which leads to the discovery that their firm will soon suffer great losses.  Peter and Seth soon bring this to the attention of the trading desk head, Will Emerson (Paul Bettany), and floor head, Sam Rogers (Kevin Spacey), who must then bring this information up to all of the senior executives and CEO John Tuld (Jeremy Irons).  The rest of the film revolves around a long night, where everyone gathers to take all considerations and make all plans possibly to limit the amount of losses and the firm’s own exposure in all of this.

The film does come off as pretty technically focused, when it comes to dealing with the financial issues of an investment firm, let alone a bit bland for those those who don’t find much cinematic appeal in the subject matter.  For some, however, Margin Call may stand as one of the best Wall Street films of all time.  I personally don’t really stand in that category, but I do appreciate what this film has to offer.

From a filmmaking standpoint, I can say that it remained a pretty engaging watch throughout.  There is a notable drop in energy during the second act, compared to how involved I felt with what was going on during the film’s opening and setup, but as the drama wore down on the various parties involved, the film picked up the pace and managed deliver in its closing.  Writer/director J.C. Chandor, making his feature-length film debut, does enough to make subject matter, which is pretty give-or-take when it comes to watching it in the form of a filmed narrative, watchable.  Its staging feels very akin to something like Glengarry Glenn Ross, but with less of that film’s impact, despite having a bigger cast, more at stake, and a more topical story.

What really makes Margin Call watchable is its fantastic ensemble cast.  Given that the film is very much about people having arguments about the various troubles of their situation, seeing how various reactions play out, how people position themselves, etc., really clues one into how the subtleties play into a film of this type, which is not about showiness.  Particular standouts are Spacey, Tucci, Bettany, Quinto, and of course Jeremy Irons.  Even if I could not connect on a more emotional level with the film, it still managed to provide a great look at the exercise of a lot of actors really putting in their all.

Hopefully I have provided enough to give a good idea of what to expect from this film, despite the obvious lack of depth I have regarding my knowledge and connection to the facts involving the recent financial crisis.  Assessing Margin Call as a film, I can say that it was satisfying, especially in the early and later segments.  The first rate cast definitely held their own, with much of the atmosphere being effectively created based on their interactions with each other.  Not the kind of film that I generally seek out, but well enough made to satisfy.

Video: 

The Blu-ray disc for Margin Call is fitted with a 1080p AVC encoded transfer.  Filmed digitally, on the Red Camera, this is not a film that is overly showy with visuals, but the transfer onto Blu is solid.  The majority of the film takes place indoors and focuses on basically men in suits and lots of close-ups.  Because of this, the color palette for the film comes off well enough and the amount of contrast between various visual elements does not call attention to itself.  For a fairly independent film that does not do a lot in regards to visual splendor, this is a pretty good looking video transfer.

Audio: 

The audio presentation for Margin Call is about equal to its video presentation.  The disc features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, which is provides plenty for this film, which is so heavy with dialogue and shot mostly indoors.  Given the investment firm setting, background noises during work hours manage to feel nicely balanced, as do the more secluded scenes where ambient noises are quietly registering as well.  It is an effective audio track, which does well for the film.

Special Features: 

While not bursting with extra features, Margin Call does include a few extras, all presented in HD, which is good enough to supplement the feature.

Features Include:

Director and Producer Feature Commentary

“Revolving Door”:  Making Margin Call – A very brief making-of featurette.

“Missed Calls”:  Moments with Cast and Crew – A gag reel.

“From the Deck”:  Photo Gallery

Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary

Final Thoughts: 

Margin Call is a fine film and a neat look at the high-stakes world of the financial industry.  Those with much more of an interest in the subject matter should certainly check this film out and others should at least be able to admire a great ensemble cast working together in a pretty well made film.  The Blu-ray does great service to the feature, providing quality audio and video presentations, even if the extras are a bit on the scant side, especially if one was seeking more insight into the subject matter presented in the film.  Great cast in a pretty good film nonetheless.

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Film 

The movie follows an array of characters and their real life troubles and somehow, in a connected turn of events, each turbulent occurrence has a connection to the next.  From a cheating husband and his suicidal mistress to a pregnant porn star stuck in an elevator, this movie is a chick flick through and through.  Some people get offended by that phrase, but what can I say?  Stereotypes happen for a reason and women will relate a lot more to this film than the guys will.  It is what it is.

The acting is performed quite well in this picture so there are no qualms there.  I found the flow somewhat choppy at times though, but if you bear with it, you will come to understand that everything in the movie has its place.  Still, I had a difficult time caring about the characters’ plights.  The development was only surface-deep at best for some of the people, which left me feeling rather unsympathetic toward them.  As for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I loved this guy’s work in 500 Days of Summer which has come to be one of my favorite films.  As for his duty in Women in Trouble, I honestly cannot comment.  Why?  I checked the credits and found he is connected to the character ‘Bert Rodriguez.’  I have no recollection of his performance or that character in this movie…and I just watched it an hour ago.  Either he is on and off the screen in the blink of an eye or his makeup is done so well that his likeness was unrecognizable. 

The film mostly follows Carla Gugino’s character (Elektra Luxx; look for a sequel this year whose title reflects the character’s namesake) and that of Palicki’s (Holly Rocket), though, as previously mentioned, there are other stories all taking place around the same time, all having an impact on most if not all the characters in a classic case of six degrees of separation.  All in all, this 95-minute production felt more like 120 minutes that just wouldn’t end soon enough.  It has its high points, but this movie lacked punch, and while containing some depth, just didn’t have enough to keep me glued to the screen.

Video 

Coming in with an AVC encode in 1080p, I was a little disappointed that those attributes didn’t deliver a more solid picture.  While I didn’t pick up on a significant amount of grain, there was this gentle haze that prevented full pore-revealing details to be visible throughout the entire movie.  The aspect ratio is shown at 2.35:1, although the visual softness provided enough distraction to keep your eyes from focusing on this attribute.  Other than that, the film’s variety of colors were vibrantly displayed amidst a backdrop of several mood-changing scenes.

Audio 

Arguably the greatest aspect of this disc is the audio.  While it won’t knock your socks off, it is impressive when it needs to be.  This was most prevalent during one sequence when a commotion could be heard downstairs.  The rear speakers brought forth the somewhat mumbled unrest in the lower floor of the home while the two actresses upstairs had dialogue delivered through the front channels.  Ambient sounds are also brilliantly sent through the rear channels, filling the air with noises appropriate for the scene at hand.  As for the subwoofer, expect that piece of equipment to lie rather dormant.

Special Features      

I am happy to report that high def technology is not wasted on the folks that put this disc together.  Each special feature comes to us in at least 720 resolution (the pool teaser), while the rest are in 1080.  Still, there’s not a lot here, nor anything too inspiring.

• Behind the Scenes with Holly Rocket and Elektra Luxx –  Gugino (Luxx) and Palicki (Rocket) take time to do a mock discussion of what Women in Trouble is about.  This did have some fairly decent comedic content, but was way too short (1:48). 
• Pool Teaser Trailer – The actresses of Women in Trouble disrobe down to their underwear in a swimming pool.  Are they hot?  Yes.  Is this entertaining?  Not for long (1:06).
• Deleted Scenes – You will find a total of five missing scenes here, all done in a therapy monologue style, all of which make me want to slam my head against a wall.  These are mock video recordings of real Hollywood personalities (6:42).

Final Thoughts 

In the end, this writer wasn’t entertained much from this production.  I did want to mention the extremely poor color choice used in the disc’s menu.  The fonts are done in white with a selected item appearing in faint pink.  The problem is the two colors are so close that it’s often difficult to decipher what menu option is highlighted and what is not.  I understand their pink went with the color scheme, but it also provided a minor and needless bit of frustration that can be easily removed.  To women I say ‘rent this,’ and to the guys I say ‘pass.’  Since there are more women than men in the world, I probably should base my recommendation off the former instead of the latter.  I just think that there are so many better movies out there than Women in Trouble for any audience, that this may not be the best decision for a rental.  Nevertheless, if your curiosity is peaked, I say have at it. 

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Written and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez (Snakes on a Plane, The Eye), this critically acclaimed film follows a day in the life of a porn star, a flight attendant, a psychiatrist, a masseuse, a bartender and a pair of call girls — all with one thing in common: trouble. While this group of LA women couldn’t be more different, one day will transform their troubles and alter their lives forever. Women in Trouble boasts a knockout ensemble cast including Carla Gugino (Watchmen, American Gangster, Sin City), Emmanuelle Chriqui (You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Cadillac Records, “Entourage”), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer, 10 Things I Hate About You), Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights”, “Spin City”, The Brothers McMullen), Simon Baker (“The Mentalist”, The Devil Wears Prada), Adrianne Palicki (“Friday Night Lights”, “South Beach”), Elizabeth Berkeley (Any Given Sunday, Showgirls, “Saved by the Bell”) and Marley Shelton (A Perfect Getaway, W., Grindhouse, The Last Kiss).
 
Debuting at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival, Women in Trouble garnered resounding critical acclaim including Playboy hailing the saucy movie as “hilarious, touching and revelatory”. Bonus features on this outrageous comedy include deleted scenes, teaser trailers and Spanish subtitles.