WILLIAM Wood advises Ian W Thomson to see The Big Short, currently in cinemas, if he wants a handle on the 2008 crash (Letters, February 8).
That movie is on my list too, but Mr Thomson might also enjoy Inside Job (2010), Charles Ferguson’s superb analytic documentary, narrated by Matt Damon; or Margin Call, a drama by JC Chandor, released the following year, graced by a sharp script and stellar cast.
Jeremy Irons plays the chairman and CEO of a Wall Street investment house. At a midnight crisis meeting one of his young risk analysts, played by Zachary Quinto (this character is indeed a former rocket scientist), is asked to explain the jeopardy he’s discovered – deploying mind-numbing algebra – in the firm’s books.
Delivering a career-best line, Jeremy encourages him: “Please speak as you might to a young child. Or a golden retriever. It wasn’t brains that brought me here – I assure you that.”
Martin Ketterer,
Tavistock Drive, Newlands,
Glasgow.
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