Welcome back to Movie Recaps. Today I will show you a drama,
thriller film from 2011, titled Margin Call. Spoilers ahead! Watch out and take care.
The air is tense in the offices of an investment bank because everyone knows a large number of
employees is about to be laid off. The biggest surprise comes in the form of Eric Dale,
the head of risk management who has been working there for nineteen years yet he gets fired over
some younger blood. Before leaving, he tries to warn them about a model he has been working on,
but he is ignored. While he is picking up his things in his office, Eric is visited by the
head of credit trading, Will Emerson, who is keeping his job. After Will shows his sympathy,
Eric asks him who was the one that chose him, and Will confesses it was Sarah, which puts
Eric in even a worse mood. Eric also tries to get Will to look at his model, but Will refuses too,
saying it is not Eric's problem anymore. On his way out, Eric receives some sympathy from
his now-former employees Peter Sullivan and Seth Bregman. When Peter shows how grateful he is for
everything Eric has done for him, Eric takes the chance and gives him the pendrive with his model,
telling him to be careful. As he leaves the building, Eric realizes they have already shut
down his phone, so when he sees chief risk management officer Sarah Robertson arriving,
he insults her for putting him in this position. Meanwhile, floor leader Sam Rogers is having a
hard time because he got a phone call from the vet telling him his dog is dying from a tumor.
Will goes to check on him and informs him that the eighty percent of the floor that has been
fired has already left, so Sam goes out and gives the remaining thirty-three employees an
encouraging speech, reminding them this is a prime opportunity for them to grow. When night falls,
all the employees go out to celebrate they are keeping their jobs except for two.
Sam goes to visit his dog, and Peter stays in the office to take a look at the files Eric left him.
The model is incomplete, but Peter manages to finish it, and the final
result is quite disturbing. He tries to call Eric, but he does not have his phone anymore, so instead
he calls Seth and asks him to bring Will back as soon as possible because it is an emergency.
When they arrive, Peter shows him what he has discovered: historical volatility levels in
mortgage-backed securities are being exceeded, and the debt incurred from those over-leveraged assets
will bankrupt the company. This is a serious issue, so Will tries to contact Eric at his home,
but his wife tells him he has not come back home yet. Will thinks he knows where they may find him,
so he gives Peter and Seth the address to Eric's favorite bar, ordering them to bring him over
while he contacts his boss. Sam is not amused at having to return to the office at eleven pm,
but shows up anyway when he hears it is an emergency. He is shocked to see the numbers on the
screen that predict a dark future for the company and asks Will to make Peter come back immediately.
All this while, Peter and Seth have been at a bar drinking and watching dancers since they
gave up quickly on trying to find Eric. They go back to the office as soon as Will calls them
and they are taken to an emergency meeting with Sarah, division head Jared Cohen and other senior
executives. After checking Peter's credentials to know if his knowledge is trustworthy,
Sarah informs Jared that while they will begin a thorough double-check of the files,
she already can tell the information is accurate. Panicking at two a.m., Jared asks Sam how long it
would take his people to clear everything from their books. Sam says it would take them weeks,
but regardless of time, it is a bad idea because it would end the company's reputation. Sarah cuts
in as well, explaining it would also take her a long time to calculate the value of these assets.
The higher-ups are entering a complicated argument, so Will, Peter, and Seth are asked
to leave the room. Jared insists they should sell everything, which Sam thinks is insane,
so Sarah convinces him to wait forty-five minutes while she goes over the information
in detail before he takes any rushed decisions. Seeing as they will not find an easy solution,
Jared decides to call their CEO. Meanwhile, Will, Peter, and Seth go to the roof to have a smoke.
After joking about jumping, Will comments that things are a mess yet the higher-ups
will still save the company because they always find a way not to lose money, even if that means
screwing everyone else over. Their conversation is interrupted by the sudden arrival of a helicopter:
the big guns are here. Back to Sarah, she goes to see Jared to tell him all the information is
solid, and Jared blames her for not having trusted Eric more. Afterward, everyone gets ready for
yet another meeting, so Jared gives the lower employees a piece of advice: things are about
to get ugly, so they must always tell the truth and not sugarcoat anything. The meeting is led
by firm CEO John Tuld, and all the stockholders have been brought in the middle of the night too.
Peter explains what the problem is again, and as a solution, Jared says they should sell it all
tonight. Sam clarifies that while this is indeed possible, they would be selling valueless assets
through lies, so when the truth comes to light later, it would destroy the company's reputation
and they would never be able to sell to these people again - this will kill the stock market for
years. However, John does not care, he only wants the company to survive. Since it is five a.m.,
he gives everyone an hour to rest and locate Eric before they fully begin working on their plan.
Afterward, John has a talk in private with Sam to ask him for his support, but Sam is
still hesitant. Jared and Sarah have a chat too, and Sarah warns him not to screw her over with
whatever strategy Jared chooses or she will bring him down with her. Eric's wife calls the company
to tell them her husband has finally come home, but he does not want to talk to them. Sam sends
Will and Seth to pick him up and warns them not to tell John's people or they will scare him off.
Meanwhile, John stops by Sarah's office to tell her she will act as the scapegoat for the firm's
over-leveraged position and asks her to resign after the fire sale. Sarah reminds him that she
did try to warn him and Jared about this and was ignored, but John warns her she is not in a
position to fight about anything. At least though, he promises to pay her well. In the garage,
Will and Seth are waiting for a car when they are approached by Jared, who shares his and
John's concern about Sam possibly not supporting the fire sale. He needs to know Will step up if
Sam does not, but Will dodges the question by saying he is sure Sam will do the right thing.
Some moments later, Will and Seth arrive at Eric's home, and Will proceeds to explain what is going
on. He asks Eric to come back for just one day, but Eric refuses, only to see a mysterious car
arrive: it is John's men, who are not willing to leave any loose ends. Will leaves Eric to speak to
them with one final warning: if he does not accept their offer, they will fight him over the benefits
they promised. On their way back, Seth asks Will if he will lose his job, and Will answer yes.
At least Seth has some money in his account to last him a few months, but he worries about
what will happen to normal people after this blows up. Will scolds him for such thoughts,
reminding him he will not survive in this business if he worries about the normal people, who get
angry at them when they make mistakes but live happily the rest of the time thanks to their work.
Back in the office, John approaches Sam with a generous money offer to get his support,
but Sam repeats he is on the side of the company's future. Afterward,
Sam is approached by Peter, who also wants to know if he will be fired. Sam says he probably will,
but he will lose his job too, because nobody will be safe after this mess.
Peter also wonders if this is the right thing to do, but neither of them knows for whom.
Meanwhile, Seth is crying in the bathroom because he is worried about his future. Jared enters the
bathroom too, but when Seth shares his concerns, Jared does not show any care. Afraid of losing all
his benefits, including his healthcare, Eric ends up accepting to return to the company for a day.
He meets with Sarah, who apologizes for everything and clarifies she did pass Eric's warning to Jared
and John weeks ago, but she was ignored. A few moments later, it is time to get the plan rolling.
Under Jared's vigilant gaze, Sam talks to his team and tells them they must sell everything
before the day ends. As they can imagine, this means they will lose their jobs and possibly
ruin their careers, so to keep them incentivized, the company will pay them a one-point-four million
bonus for selling ninety-three percent of their individual assets. If the floor as a whole sells
ninety-three percent of the entire thing, then that is an additional one-point-three million
a piece. Sam also apologizes for everything, reminding them that this is unique for even
someone like him, who has been working in this firm for thirty-four years, swearing he is
proud of everyone in his team and that their talents have been used for the greater good.
The traders immediately jump into action, selling to anyone that will give them the time of the day.
Eventually, their counterparties become suspicious of such a sudden sale so the firm begins selling
with a heavy loss, but at least they are able to get rid of most of the bad assets.
Jared goes to see Sam to congratulate him on a well done job and inform him he must begin
sending people home right now. He also tells him that thanks to having backed up the sale, he will
not be losing his job, since the higher-ups are happy with the result. This angers Sam,
and he rushes to see John, who is calmly having lunch as if it was just another normal workday.
Sam wants his options released and to be out because he is done with the company after
this mess, but John needs him to be here for him for the next twenty-four months,
then he will gladly let him go. This is not enough to clean Sam's conscience,
and John finds his guilt laughable: he thinks this is just money, just paper that is not even real.
They have always run a shady business, Sam just did not want to accept it. Sam agrees to stay,
but only because he needs the money, not because he agrees with John's ideas. John is grateful and
informs him that Peter not only will keep his job, but he is also getting a promotion. Later
in the evening, Sam returns to his old house to bury his euthanized dog in the front yard. His
ex-wife finds him there, almost calling the police until she realizes who it is, and reminds him that
he does not live there anymore. Sam explains this is the only place his dog belongs, so his ex-wife
decides to let him do his thing. Before going back into the house though, she tells Sam that
their son's firm also sustained heavy losses but at least they survived without going bankrupt.