Margin Call is a 2011 thriller that serves as a case study of how investment firms might react to a crisis. The movie is set on the eve of the Great Recession, depicting the last night of good times on Wall Street when the company discovers its portfolio could become worthless, potentially resulting in a firm’s collapse due to speculation in the mortgage markets. Consequently, the senior executives and risk analysts gather to decide their next course of action – whether to hold and try to mitigate the damage or sell everything before everyone on the market learns the same and prices fall.
The movie’s director and screenwriter found inspiration for Margin Call in his own experience in real estate investment. This helped give the movie a realistic, though high-stakes, plot with razor-sharp wit and pertinent lessons for investors today. Its Oscar nomination took the movie to Wall Street cult classic status.
Similar to almost any classy investing book, this movie contains crucial insights into how individuals should and should not act during turbulent times that they can build upon.