Marie-Louise Anderson

This terrifically gripping film is an object lesson in “show - don’t tell” that engages the audience’s intelligence to work out for themselves the implications of what is happening through hints and allusions, and not through explicit explanations. Brilliantly juxtaposed camera shots of faces, shoes, clothes, body language, deportment and the sparse dialogue indicate that communication is portrayed largely from the unconscious domain and thus the viewer’s awareness is alerted to note all aspects in each of the scenes. For example, the sounds of the escorts marching along the corridor with the first Risk manager to lose his job sounds like storm troopers that adds to the menacing atmosphere of what is to transpire. In another scene in the men’s toilet one young employee sits sobbing then the second in charge enters the room and is shown shaving himself Narcissus-like in the reflected mirrors as if trapped in his own image and displays no empathy with the predicament of the young man losing his job. The implication is that his narcissistic personality is most suited to the ruthlessness required in such high positions. This film has much to reflect upon as in the big boss’s daunting and chilling conclusion about the impending disaster. “Margin Call”’s superb cast act with utter conviction. I look forward to more creations from this writer/director debutante, J.C. Chandor.