Movie: "Inside Job" looks for culprits in the global financial crisis of 2008

New York's financial district

Title:  Inside job (2010)

Awards: Oscar Award Winner for the  Best Documentary film of 2010

Produced, Written, Directed by: Charles Ferguson

Narrated by: Matt Damon

Score: 7 out of 10



Verdict:   A very good documentary about  the financial crisis of 2008 that caused ripple effects across the globe. It explores the roles played by various individuals who were inside players in the world of finance and their complicity in the economic meltdown. The movie features tough face-to-face interviews with financial consultants, lobbyists, some people from the government and of course the villains from Wall street. Odd as it may sound this movie features some great music and excellent aerial photography of New York's financial district.



The movie is organized in 5 parts.

Part 1: How we got there 

Part II: The Bubble (2001-2007)

Part III: The Crisis

Part IV: Accountability

Part V: Where We Are Now

The movie starts off with the caption "Tens of millions of people lost their savings, their jobs and their homes. This is how it happened."  That line supports one reason why I like to watch documentaries. Some times when a potentially important news story breaks out, I miss the beginning. Then I start paying attention only when the issue becomes front page news daily, leaving me feeling that I need to know how it all started. So I like watching a documentary to catch up on the details right from the beginning.

 

The director Charles Ferguson lamented during his Oscar acceptance speech that not a single person has gone to jail for his or her role in causing this crisis. After watching the movie I felt that he has the conviction to say it. In this movie he demonstrates his good understanding of the financial systems. Watching him pose tough follow-up questions to the alleged culprits, we can appreciate his solid preparation for making this movie. It is also good for us that he also possesses good skills in making movies. Through expert evidence, illustrative information and interviews, he lays bare the criminal neglect displayed by the regulatory bodies. In some cases we see that they actively contributed to the financial crisis.

The movie refers to great number of academic papers and memos which had tried to warn of the impending financial crisis. One paper that draw my attention was by Raghuram Rajan - Chief Economist from the IMF. In this paper titled "Has financial development made the world riskier?" the author's conclusion is a 'yes'.  The movie helps the viewers grasp key material from such papers by highlighting the appropriate sections. 

It is a treat to watch and listen to highly analytical and scholarly dissection of the problem by financial and economic experts like Paul Volcker (Fed Chairman in the late 70s and 80s) , George Soros (investor),  Nouriel Roubini (academic), Charles Morris (Author of The Two Trillion Dollar Meltdown); Elliot Spitzer (former Governor of New York). The movie even features some conversation with Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the now-disgraced Chairman of the IMF.

This movie should be of interest to students of finance and economics and anyone interested in knowing who were responsible for the global financial crisis of 2008.