U/A; Documentary Dir: Charles Ferguson
Inside Job
U/A; Documentary
Dir: Charles Ferguson
Rating: ***
What's it about: It's three years since the global economic meltdown popularly called the "recession" started on the Wall Street and penetrated markets all around the world. Is it a little too late then to document the real reasons behind the phenomenon that left millions jobless? Not really. Charles Ferguson does an incredible job by getting on record statements, honest confessions from members of the fraternity who accept that the financial breakdown was indeed orchestrated to fill the pockets of the select few. There is a volley of questions that are thrown at people in high positions who are unable to understand why keeping the rich from getting richer is really a problem?
What's hot: Inside Job has a slow buildup of outrage and anger that comes through the series of interviews he conducts. Whether it is talking about bust in the booming housing sector or using Iceland as a prime example on how to mend things, Fergusson uses every trick in the bag to get your attention. Most of the conversations are uncomfortable as he asks questions that the common man wants to know. For students of economics or those wanting to get a close look at how things started unraveling the film offers excellent material.
What's not: It's a documentary so don't go expecting a cinematic thrill. Unlike Michael Moore or Sasha Baren Cohen, Ferguson doesn't use gimmicks or humor to get your attention. Instead he offers the material expecting you to decide whether it interests or bores you. The pace gets a bit sluggish especially in the middle when the film seems to be going around in circles without offering any meaningful insight. Also getting Matt Damon to narrate seems like an age old clich ufffd to turn to Hollywood for endorsing a belief. There are loads of jargons, heavy phrases, euphemisms and technical terms that might baffle you. Doing a bit of reading up on the subject might help to understand the film better.
What to do: Inside Job works in creating the right sense of anger over what went wrong, but it doesn't succeed in throwing up names or pointing fingers at anyone in particular.
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