Too Big to Fail (film)
| Too Big to Fail | |
|---|---|
Television release poster | |
| Genre | Biographical drama |
| Based on | Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin |
| Written by | Peter Gould |
| Directed by | Curtis Hanson |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Marcelo Zarvos |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Ezra Swerdlow |
| Cinematography | Kramer Morgenthau |
| Editors |
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| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
| Release | May 23, 2011 |
Too Big to Fail is a 2011 American biographical drama television film directed by Curtis Hanson and written by Peter Gould, based on Andrew Ross Sorkin's 2009 non-fiction book Too Big to Fail. The cast includes William Hurt, Edward Asner, Billy Crudup, Paul Giamatti, Topher Grace, Cynthia Nixon, Bill Pullman, Tony Shalhoub, and James Woods. The film aired on HBO on May 23, 2011.
The film chronicles the 2008 financial crisis, focusing on the collapse of Lehman Brothers investment bank and the subsequent ripple effects on the global economy. As the firm's negotiations with potential buyers fail due to toxic assets and regulatory obstacles, the firm declares bankruptcy, triggering market chaos. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (Hurt) and Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke (Giamatti) lead efforts to stabilize the system, including rescuing AIG and lobbying Congress to pass the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
It received 11 nominations at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards; Paul Giamatti's portrayal of Ben Bernanke earned him the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie at the 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Plot
In 2008, the subprime mortgage crisis is affecting investment banks holding massive real estate assets. In the midst of an election year, Paulson is wary of funding more ‘bailouts’, after he guaranteed the sale of Bear Stearns at a fraction of its value to JPMorgan Chase. He refuses to step in after shares of investment bank, Lehman Brothers, lose significant value. Lehman CEO Richard Fuld makes a string of bad decisions, pushing Lehman's shares down into single-digits by Friday, September 12.
Timothy Geithner, Chairman of the New York Federal Reserve, wants Paulson to aid a Lehman-merger with Bank of America, but Paulson wants other affected banks to guarantee the deal. He calls an emergency meeting with major bank CEOs at the Federal Reserve. As they hash out terms, Bank of America shockingly announces they are buying Lehman-rival Merrill Lynch instead. Lehman redirects its hopes to UK bank, Barclays, but British regulators "don't want to import [America’s] cancer." With no sale imminent, Lehman declares bankruptcy on September 15.
Immediately, the stock market crashes and investors start pulling funds. Banks stop lending money, freezing the credit market for businesses to borrow for their operations. Faced with paying off large amounts of CDSs against failing mortgages, insurance giant AIG faces a liquidity crisis. French Finance minister, Christine Lagarde, urges Paulson to not let AIG fail too, as they are too interconnected in international business. The government complies by rescuing AIG with an $85-billion loan.
Meanwhile, Ben Bernanke fears a lack of credit in the system would lead to another Great Depression. Neel Kashkari proposes buying out toxic assets to restore confidence in financial institutions, but the $700-billion program will not work fast enough. Dan Jester, Paulson's former colleague and an advisor, suggests injecting capital into the banks, so that they can lend out to borrowers. Government intervention would trigger concerns of nationalisation, so few restrictions are placed on how banks use federal money. Noting the irony, advisor Michele Davis laments that banks can dictate terms to the government while not taking any blame for the financial crisis.
An epilogue reveals that credit conditions did not ease until 2009, when the market freefall was arrested. Meanwhile, banks misappropriated federal loans to facilitate new highs in Wall Street compensation, which rose to $135 billion by 2010.[1]
Cast
The cast includes the following:[2]
Reception
Critical reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 74%, based on 27 reviews, and an average rating of 6/10.[3] On Metacritic, the movie received a weighted average score of 67/100 from 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[4]
The A.V. Club gave the film a B rating.[5]
Awards and nominations
Home media
The DVD was released on June 12, 2012.[18]
See also
Notes
- ^ Also for Cinema Verite, Mildred Pierce and The Sunset Limited.
References
- ^ "Too Big to Fail". Complete Season DVDs. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
- ^ "Too Big to Fail: Cast & Crew". HBO Movies. HBO. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
- ^ "Too Big to Fail (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
- ^ "Too Big To Fail Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. June 25, 2018.
- ^ Tobias, Scott (May 23, 2011). "Too Big To Fail". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
- ^ "2011 Artios Awards". www.castingsociety.com. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
- ^ "2011 HPA Awards". Hollywood Professional Association. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
- ^ "15th Annual TV Awards (2010-11)". Online Film & Television Association. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
- ^ "Too Big to Fail". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ "2011 Satellite Awards". Satellite Awards. International Press Academy. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
- ^ "The Television Critics Association Announces 2011 TCA Awards Nominees". Television Critics Association. June 13, 2011. Archived from the original on February 13, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners". Art Directors Guild. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
- ^ "'Hanna,' 'Hugo' and 'Moneyball' Nominated for Cinema Audio Society Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. January 19, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- ^ "Too Big to Fail – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- ^ Kilday, Gregg (January 21, 2012). "Producers Guild Awards Name 'The Artist' Motion Picture of Year; 'Boardwalk Empire' Scores TV Drama (Winners List)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
- ^ "The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
- ^ "Previous Nominees & Winners: 2012 Awards Winners". Writers Guild Awards. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ "Too Big to Fail". Complete Season DVDs. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2012.