INSIDE JOB


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Director: Charles Ferguson Charles Feruson and co-written with Chad Beck and Adam Bolt
Screenwriters: Charles Ferguson - co-written with Chad Beck and Adam Bolt
Principal cast:
Matt Damon (voice)
Gylfi Zoega
Andri Snær Magnason
Sigridur Benedikst
Paul Volcker
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Country: USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 109 mins.
Australian release date: 17 February 2011

Charles Ferguson’s documentary, Inside Job, is a revealing account of the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. This was the worse financial crisis to hit since the Depression and the ramifications are still being felt. Ferguson set out to, “… enable everyone to understand the fundamental nature and causes…” of the crisis and to expose the increasingly criminal industry which has seen few people go to prison. He hopes that his film will emphasize, “… the importance of restoring honesty and stability to our financial system, and of holding those accountable who destroyed it.” It is without doubt that Ferguson’s aim is honourable and yes, the documentary succeeds in exposing the truth, but it leaves you reeling from the fact that justice will probably never be served.

The exposé is not just aimed at the financial institutions. It includes the corrupted politicians, regulators and academics who all had their snouts in the trough. And what murky waters the trough held. The result being that millions of people lost their homes and jobs and at the same time CEOs of many financial institutions were reaping huge and I mean HUGE bonuses for basically screwing their clients. We learn this from the numerous interviews with major financial players who knew that the de-regulation of banks and the triple AAA ratings given to dodgy financial procedures that simply did not deserve them, led to massive profits for them and their institutions, but financial ruin for those who invested in them. And yet no-one did anything about stopping the rise of this mammoth financial bubble. Why? Well, it was not their money and therefore not their concern. Their objective was simply to make more and more and more and more…

Inside Job is a documentary which should be compulsory viewing, not just for the historical curiosity factor, but more for the psychological insight it gives its audience. You will be absolutely gob-smacked by the facts and punched-out by the evidence. The most depressing fact is that nothing has really changed. We are surrounded by Type A personalities who hold the balance of power and we have no control, or indeed the ability to call for changes when up against such institutions. The Reagan, Bush Snr and Jnr, Clinton and, sadly, Obama presidencies all roll into one big pile of the same ol’, same ol’…. God help us, because She sure as hell can’t help the USA. Do not miss this film and tell everyone you know to go and see it.
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