Film Review: Inside Job [dir: Charles Ferguson; 2010]

How many times have you heard yourself saying that you "don't really get this whole 'financial crisis' thing"? Well, it won't qualify you to write a PhD on the subject, but Inside Job will certainly go some way towards explaining why, for instance, governments around the western world currently feel obliged to make savage cuts to public sector budgets and why bankers continue to provoke outrage for taking home over-inflated bonuses. Although the documentary presents the situation from an American point of view, there's enough here to interest people anywhere in the world, especially when Ferguson turns his attention to various high-profile academics who were paid large sums of money to write reports supporting dubious financial policies and practices. 'Poker face' doesn't even begin to describe how some of the interviewees react to the questioning. An impressive film, well worth travelling some distance to see.

[Incidentally, if you're interested in brushing up on this complex but undeniably important subject, I'd recommend these two books: Whoops! by John Lanchester and The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.]