"Top of the Queue Review" - Inside Job

Inside Job is the kind of documentary movie that will possibly piss you off but will also have you laughing at some of the ridiculous responses the people who are interviewed give.  Those responses will probably piss you off as well since this movie documents the financial crisis that happened in 2007 and 2008 and the people who are interviewed almost all had something to do with what happened.

I don't think there is anyone I know that wasn't impacted in some way by what happened in 2007 and 2008.  Many people lost their houses, investments or jobs because of the actions of numerous people involved in the financial organizations.  And seeing this documentary of the events that led up to the financial melt down will most like have you shaking your head at how pompous some of the people who were interviewed react when questioned.  Inside Job perfectly explains in easy to understand terms, how the perfect storm of the actions of a multiple of greedy people snowballed into the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.   The movie won the 2010 Oscar for Best Documentary and after seeing the in-depth research and dedication the filmmakers went to in order to document and explain what happened, this honor is very well deserved.

The film was directed by Charles Ferguson.  It was very interesting to me to see how far back the seeds of the crisis were planted as well as how it wasn't just one thing that made the crisis what it was, but multiple things happening in multiple areas.  Ferguson easily explains such a difficult subject, through the narration as well as visually through the shots he chooses and breaks it apart to show how various policy changes in the banking and investment industry resulted in deregulation and how the rise of risk taking rose especially in relation to the sub prime loan market.

Matt Damon narrates the film and his voice is soothing and clear using easy to understand terms to not only explain the various actions that caused the meltdown to happen but to also go in depth into areas that you didn't exactly realize had an impact on the outcome.  The dialogue is concise as well in it's ability to really make you understand and relate to what happened.  Damon's narration also gives the film an everyman feeling, as even though he is a movie star he comes across as a celebrity who is concerned about the world and is thus easy to relate to.

I definitely recommend this movie- just know that it starts out in Iceland of all places and dissects what happened to that country when the banks were privatized - not good things to say the least.  But stick with it and pay attention and you'll really understand exactly what happened and how, hopefully, something like this will never happen again.  Though, trust me, you will be pissed off and in shock at the actions of most of the people who are interviewed or profiled.

Amazon link for the Inside Job [Blu-ray]

Amazon link for the Inside Job

Trailer for the film -