The Big Short is a film that follows four men, who predicted the impending economic collapse of the U.S. mortgage bond market in the mid-2000s. While director Adam McKay is best known for Anchorman and his affiliation with Will Ferrell, this biographical drama is mostly infotaining, only funny in a tragic kind of way and leverages a first-class cast including: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt.

AAA, BBB, CDOs, sub-prime… the bubble that caused a world recession probably left more people confused than destitute. Even many economic students would struggle to give you an overview of what actually happened. The alienation surrounding the global financial meltdown has prompted a number of excellent documentaries: the award-winning Inside Job and Terry Jones’s eclectic, Boom Bust Boom.

The Big Short serves as part financial pot boiler drama in the wake of The Wolf of Wall Street and part infotainment with the ambition of Boom Bust Boom. The correlation between The Wolf of Wall Street and The Big Short is quite obvious as the film coasts on the coattails of Scorsese’s debauched biography with a bubble bath cameo from mascot, Margot Robbie. Instead of debauchery, however, it’s peppered with f-bombs and riddled with financial jargon.

“NEVER… EVER… use my hairdresser behind my back.”

The smartie-pants address-the-audience thing serves as comic relief and takes the sting out of the number-crunching intensity of the characters. They’re a colourful bunch, mostly shades of green, and their screw-the-man antics help keep us invested in their plight. The tension between their opportunity-seeking and watch-the-world-burn attitude makes the journey of risk and reward bittersweet.

Luckily, McKay’s able to coax some despicably likable performances out of his actors, with whose talent you imagine required little guidance. Christian Bale is a desk-bound Lebowski as Michael Burry, Steve Carell averts shifty melancholic eyes as Mark Baum, Brad Pitt is in disguise as Ben Rickert and Ryan Gosling is slimy as Jared Vennett. The performances are what hold The Big Short together as the four co-leads headline a sharp ensemble, operating like the bigwigs in a Guy Ritchie heist.

The off-the-wall-street tone is flippantly entertaining and the diverse soundtrack adds humour ranging from Metallica’s thrash metal to Gnarls Barkley’s pop anthem. The curt editing cuts off sentences and fills gaps with tokens from the time, giving the impression things are moving along quickly. It’s an interesting and relentless choice that keeps the pacing upbeat and rather manic. Although at over 2 hours, it’s a bit of a slog as the vicarious financial “lecture” steamrolls on.

The Big Short is distanced even further by its numbers game as it all takes place in the United States. It’s understandable, but doesn’t really open the gates for international audiences. The primarily male, white, American cast and financial juggling refines this niche drama even further, making it admirable from an arm’s length but never really lands the jabs it’s pulling.

The end result is that we’re presented with some sharp performances from a strong cast, against the backdrop of an fascinating prelude to financial meltdown, which is delivered with a cheeky Coen brothers tone and some Guy Ritchie panache by a range of wacky individuals. The wry sentiment may appeal to some, the style makes the true story more palatable and the revelation is welcome, but it’s a bitter pill.

The bottom line: Infotaining

Release date: 15 January, 2016
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