This is a well-crafted and well-acted psychological drama, telling the story of a dysfunctional family and of a young man who is intelligent enough to become really, really stupid. It is also an astute analysis of a financial system in crisis, mired in some of the most egregiously vapid speculation this side of the Dutch Tulip Craze. In this movie there are bubbles bursting all over the place, from the personal level to the societal.
Still, the ending leaves a lot to be desired - it could have been a great deal sharper.
There is an area where the movie, for all its qualities, falls down badly and that is the use of rhetoric. (I'm using the term loosely.) The young CEO Tom is supposed to be a supreme salesperson, also a supreme bullsh.tter, capable of swaying even the most recalcitrant business partner or client. In fact the words coming out of his mouth aren't all that convincing ; they're not even all that interesting. It's a pretty safe bet that there are falling- down drunk conversations going on in bars right now which contain more invitation or offer more wit and perception.
This becomes very clear in the scene where Tom addresses a reunion as a speaker. The sentences coming out of his mouth are basically badly strung together gobbledygook ; and yet his audience listens raptly, as if Churchill himself was giving one of his most rousing and engaging wartime speeches. Credible it is not.
Still, the ending leaves a lot to be desired - it could have been a great deal sharper.
There is an area where the movie, for all its qualities, falls down badly and that is the use of rhetoric. (I'm using the term loosely.) The young CEO Tom is supposed to be a supreme salesperson, also a supreme bullsh.tter, capable of swaying even the most recalcitrant business partner or client. In fact the words coming out of his mouth aren't all that convincing ; they're not even all that interesting. It's a pretty safe bet that there are falling- down drunk conversations going on in bars right now which contain more invitation or offer more wit and perception.
This becomes very clear in the scene where Tom addresses a reunion as a speaker. The sentences coming out of his mouth are basically badly strung together gobbledygook ; and yet his audience listens raptly, as if Churchill himself was giving one of his most rousing and engaging wartime speeches. Credible it is not.