This week was the four year anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which can be regarded as the start of the financial crisis. In the years since filmmakers have responded with recession cinema, feature films dramatizing the ethical implications of the crisis and documentaries examining the causes or profiling the people involved. Here is a look at some notable films:
Arbitrage
Richard Gere stars as the president a hedge fund attempting to sell his company before anyone notices its financial troubles.
A Better Life
Films dealing earnestly with poverty are rare from Hollywood but this picture tells a moving story about an illegal immigrant working and raising his son in California.
Capitalism: A Love Story
Michael Moore’s documentary about the financial system was not his best work but Moore’s skill as a filmmaker and his charm as a storyteller make up for many of its flaws.
Client 9: The Rise of Fall of Elliot Spitzer
This profile of the former governor of New York has some overlaps with Inside Job and is an interesting tale of intrigue.
Collapse
A documentary on Michael Ruppert a reporter who predicted the financial crisis.
The Girlfriend Experience
Steven Soderbergh’s film about an upscale escort (played by former adult film actress Sasha Grey) examines the impact of money on intimacy and relationships.
Inside Job
Of all the films on this list, Inside Job is indispensable as it explains the mechanics that caused the financial crisis.
Margin Call
The best dramatic film on this list, Margin Call examines the first twenty-four hours of the financial crisis in a fictional investment bank.
Too Big to Fail
Based on the book by Andrew Ross Sorkin, this film dramatizes the major players in the financial crisis, focusing on Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Oliver Stone’s sequel to his Oscar winning 1987 film takes place amid the recession. Money Never Sleeps isn’t anywhere near a good as the original, but the depiction of the crisis is very good.
Win Win
Paul Giamatti plays a struggling lawyer and a high school wrestling coach who finds himself involved with a troubled teen who he has taken in. Although not directly about the ins and outs of the recession, it does reflect its impact on the middle class.