Mostly Frightening and Aggravating, with a Dash of Humor

Despite being retired, we somehow seldom find the time to see movies in theaters. Last night, we saw "The Big Short." Just wow! I haven't yet read Michael Lewis' book, and now I probably won't. Even if the book is, as usual, better than the movie, I think that the movie was sufficiently careful and complete to satisfy my thirst for understanding this horrible chapter in our economic history.

For those of us who are fortunate enough to be a bit removed from the still stagnating economy and the plight of most of the middle class, the Big Recession is starting to feel a bit like a distant memory. But it's good to remember...

Despite the esoteric subject-matter, the story is completely riveting. Director Adam McKay uses occasional comic sketches to illustrate the most difficult financial concepts and to provide a bit of relief from the drama. The actors all turned in stellar performances. I have to believe that they "believed" in the importance of the story they tried to tell. 

This isn't a horror film in any traditional sense of the term, but at various points, fellow audience members gasped audibly. And we all left the theater shaken and angry (and better informed). The truly frightening thing is that I don't think we have learned very much from the experience of 2008 and the subsequent years. The financial fat cats are still at it, and we've done very little to rein them in and protect ourselves from the next bubble ready to burst.