Boiler Room
3.5/4
Starring: Giovanni Ribisi, Nia Long, Nicky Katt, Ron Rifkin, Vin Diesel, Taylor Nichols, Tom Everett Scott, Ben Affleck
Rated R for Strong Language and Some Drug Content
Is "Boiler Room" a wish fulfillment fantasy that turns south? A reflection of our culture? An example of how an environment can turn a good kid into a narcissistic jerk? Or is it a predictor for how we ended up in this cursed recession? I think it's all of them...and more.
Seth Davis (Ribisi) is a college dropout who is running a successful casino from his apartment. His father (Rifkin) despises him for it. Luck comes his way when a friend named Greg Weinstein (Katt) drops by and lets him in on a job opportunity where he can make big bucks. It's a stockbroking firm called JT Marlin, and it's run by Michael Brantley (Scott) and Jim Young (Affleck). In the group interview, Young promises them that they will make their first million dollars within three years. Seth gets accepted, and under the tutelage of Greg and Chris Varick (Diesel), he becomes a huge success. But then Seth sees something by accident that raises suspicions that JT Marlin may not be as clean as it claims to be.
What's interesting about this film is how writer/director Ben Younger (in his first film), explores the culture that this kind of an environment creates. Nearly everyone working at the firm is young: mid twenties to early thirties. This much money with that kind of immaturity is an intriguing mix. They're frat boys with money to burn, although most don't spend it wisely. They're impulsive and on the go constantly. They also have egos up the wazoo and take things deadly seriously (although I got the sense that they're trying to prove to each other how important they are; they know the dialogue in "Wall Street" by heart).
The acting is terrific. Giovanni Ribisi is good as Seth, a smart but aimless guy who becomes one of the guys, but not to his benefit. He wants nothing more than to impress his father, but it's a tough sell because his father hasn't heard of it and thinks it a lesser firm. However, Ribisi is a good low-key actor who can also play intense characters (like in "Avatar," for example). But crying doesn't come easy to him, and the scene where he is required to do so comes across as fake as a result. Nia Long, who plays Abbie, the firm's secretary, is also good. She's really the only person there who is actually kind and not a sociopath like everyone else. Long is a good actress, and this performance shows what she is truly capable of. The other actors do excellent work (there's nothing more sad than watching one of Seth's clients, Harry Reynard (Nichols) plead with Seth after he loses everything), although I must single out Ben Affleck. Known primarily for playing low-key everymen, Affleck does an about face playing Jim Young, the head recruiter. He's aggressive, forceful and brutal. He's only on screen for a few scenes, but he dominates them and commands our strictest attention.
Ben Younger is a good but criminally underrated filmmaker (his next film was "Prime"). He has a firm command over the material, and his script is strong. The only rookie mistake is that some scenes run a little too long (he could have shaved off about 15 minutes of the film and made it tighter and leaner). And for someone who knows next to nothing about finance, the whole scheme doesn't make sense when it's explained ("Margin Call" suffered from this too). But it really doesn't matter. We understand what is going on and what it means if not how it works.
"Boiler Room" is really a wild ride. It's intelligent and fiercely compelling. Even if you have no interest in the financial world (I don't), it's still well worth a watch.
Starring: Giovanni Ribisi, Nia Long, Nicky Katt, Ron Rifkin, Vin Diesel, Taylor Nichols, Tom Everett Scott, Ben Affleck
Rated R for Strong Language and Some Drug Content
Is "Boiler Room" a wish fulfillment fantasy that turns south? A reflection of our culture? An example of how an environment can turn a good kid into a narcissistic jerk? Or is it a predictor for how we ended up in this cursed recession? I think it's all of them...and more.
Seth Davis (Ribisi) is a college dropout who is running a successful casino from his apartment. His father (Rifkin) despises him for it. Luck comes his way when a friend named Greg Weinstein (Katt) drops by and lets him in on a job opportunity where he can make big bucks. It's a stockbroking firm called JT Marlin, and it's run by Michael Brantley (Scott) and Jim Young (Affleck). In the group interview, Young promises them that they will make their first million dollars within three years. Seth gets accepted, and under the tutelage of Greg and Chris Varick (Diesel), he becomes a huge success. But then Seth sees something by accident that raises suspicions that JT Marlin may not be as clean as it claims to be.
What's interesting about this film is how writer/director Ben Younger (in his first film), explores the culture that this kind of an environment creates. Nearly everyone working at the firm is young: mid twenties to early thirties. This much money with that kind of immaturity is an intriguing mix. They're frat boys with money to burn, although most don't spend it wisely. They're impulsive and on the go constantly. They also have egos up the wazoo and take things deadly seriously (although I got the sense that they're trying to prove to each other how important they are; they know the dialogue in "Wall Street" by heart).
The acting is terrific. Giovanni Ribisi is good as Seth, a smart but aimless guy who becomes one of the guys, but not to his benefit. He wants nothing more than to impress his father, but it's a tough sell because his father hasn't heard of it and thinks it a lesser firm. However, Ribisi is a good low-key actor who can also play intense characters (like in "Avatar," for example). But crying doesn't come easy to him, and the scene where he is required to do so comes across as fake as a result. Nia Long, who plays Abbie, the firm's secretary, is also good. She's really the only person there who is actually kind and not a sociopath like everyone else. Long is a good actress, and this performance shows what she is truly capable of. The other actors do excellent work (there's nothing more sad than watching one of Seth's clients, Harry Reynard (Nichols) plead with Seth after he loses everything), although I must single out Ben Affleck. Known primarily for playing low-key everymen, Affleck does an about face playing Jim Young, the head recruiter. He's aggressive, forceful and brutal. He's only on screen for a few scenes, but he dominates them and commands our strictest attention.
Ben Younger is a good but criminally underrated filmmaker (his next film was "Prime"). He has a firm command over the material, and his script is strong. The only rookie mistake is that some scenes run a little too long (he could have shaved off about 15 minutes of the film and made it tighter and leaner). And for someone who knows next to nothing about finance, the whole scheme doesn't make sense when it's explained ("Margin Call" suffered from this too). But it really doesn't matter. We understand what is going on and what it means if not how it works.
"Boiler Room" is really a wild ride. It's intelligent and fiercely compelling. Even if you have no interest in the financial world (I don't), it's still well worth a watch.
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