Review by Neil Davey
Narrated by Matt Damon, and featuring William Ackman, Daniel Alpert, Jonathan Alpert, Sigridur Benediktsdottir, Willem Buiter, John Campbell, Christine Lagarde, Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Written by Chad Beck & Adam Bolt
Certification UK 12A | US PG-13
Runtime 120 minutes
Directed by Charles Ferguson
Banking is a Ponzi scheme. That’s the basic – and well argued – premise of Charles Ferguson’s impressive documentary, Inside Job.
With incoming governments blaming outgoing governments for their nation’s financial ills, Ferguson’s thoroughly researched film points out the truth. This is a global recession and it was caused by the acts of one self-governing, increasingly untouchable group: the bankers. In their desperate quest for short term gains, the bankers were either unaware or happy to ignore the long term implications of their behaviour. It’s hard to say which is worse although, as the fallout became increasingly apparent, both were overshadowed by the bankers ability to: a) protect themselves and their increasingly obscene salary and bonus packages; and b) attempt to make even more money from the gathering crisis.
If this sounds dry or paranoid, relax. Ferguson’s film goes to the heart of the problem, provides clever and clear descriptions of the various derivatives, mortgage backed securities and other products / jargon, and interviews many of the industry’s leading players. Strangely, the key personnel in what, frankly, appears to be a long term plan to ransack the world (and all the time changing most of the regulations that would see them punished) refuse to be interviewed. Funny that.
What’s particularly pleasing – and I’m writing this as a former banker – is the clear portrayal of “the economy” as it really is. The way people discuss “the economy” makes it sound like some strange, uncontrollable beast that’s violent and fickle by nature. Play back a financial news report to small children and then ask them to draw “the economy” and I reckon most would produce a picture of some hideous scaly creature with wings and fangs and big claws, that needs regular sacrifices to appease it. The implication is always that “the economy” is something organic that we must respond to, rather than the truth: white men with lots of money using that money to make even more money. And, in the process, create a system whereby if they gamble and lose then we, the average punter, have to give them even more money to play with.
Revelatory, anger-inducing but non-preachy – it’s narrated in crisp style by Matt Damon – Inside Job makes sense of the entire mess. It’s a towering achievement in the circumstances, perhaps the first truly piece of essential viewing this year. See it, then let’s talk about that revolution...