---
title: "Margin Call: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/margin-call/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/margin-call"
critics_score: 71
critics_reviews: 18
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Margin Call (2011): what the critics said

Critics' score 71 from 18 reviews: 12 positive, 3 mixed, 3 negative.

Most critics think well of it. The reviews return again and again to Chandor’s script and the ensemble: Spacey, Irons, Tucci, Quinto and Bettany are named repeatedly, with Irons singled out more than once. Critics like that the bankers are treated as people rather than villains, and that the film neither excuses nor sneers at them. Several rank it among the best fictional treatments of the 2008 crisis, and Mamet is invoked more than once for the clipped, procedural dialogue.

The reservations are about talk. Even admirers concede a tendency to speechify, and the harsher reviews find the dialogue repetitive and the pacing sluggish, with characters who never quite become people. Time Out wants a moral outsider the film never provides. Collider goes further and calls its account of the crisis inaccurate. The spread is wide and has a pattern: the coldest notices come from the early festival screenings in January 2011, while the British release a year later is received far more warmly.

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 8 January 2012. 

Margin Call is the best fictional treatment of the current economic crisis, superior to Oliver Stone's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and comparable to the documentary Inside Job and Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross in its precise, convincing dialogue and ensemble cast. The film unfolds as a taut thriller over 36 hours as a Wall Street firm confronts toxic assets and ruthless decisions to protect its own.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/jan/08/margin-call-review)

## The New Yorker — David Denby

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 October 2011. 

The critic calls it one of the strongest American films of the year and the best Wall Street movie ever made, praising its focus on corporate manners, hierarchy, and the difficulty of confronting speculation with truth. He singles out the writing, acting, and the way it captures the protocols of power.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/10/31/all-that-glitters-david-denby)

## Empire — Ian Freer

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2011. 

The critic lauds the film's sharp, Mamet-influenced dialogue and superb ensemble that humanizes the bankers while exposing their moral myopia. It particularly praises the performances of Quinto, Tucci, Spacey, and Irons in this gripping, grown-up cautionary tale.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/margin-call-review/)

## The Independent

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 12 January 2012. 

The critic praises Chandor's smart script and sympathetic handling of Wall Street characters facing the 2008 crisis. It highlights the film's tense sequence of meetings, pared-down financial language, and strong performances, especially from Tucci and Spacey.

[Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/margin-call-15-6288756.html)

## Total Film — Andrew Lowry

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 3 January 2012. 

The critic calls it a contender for the best Wall Street film for presenting characters as real people rather than caricatures. It highlights Chandor's subtle script and the ensemble's key moments of vulnerability that reveal the personal cost of the crisis.

[Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/margin-call-review/)

## Evening Standard

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. 

The critic commends the film's realistic portrayal of a Wall Street firm's atmosphere during crisis and Chandor's even-handed approach that humanizes the characters without excusing them. It singles out the strong ensemble cast and the director's skill in orchestrating complex drama.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/margin-call-review-7428232.html)

## Radio Times — Andrew Collins

Rating 4/5. 

Chandor's assured debut dramatises a Lehman-like bank's frantic 36-hour reaction to the financial crisis. The claustrophobic office setting and strong ensemble, especially Spacey and Irons, humanise the disaster effectively.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-9cianr/margin-call/)

## Slant Magazine — Nick Schager

Rating 3/4. 23 March 2011. 

The film is most assured in its sober, undramatic depiction of corporate greed and moral compromise, especially in quiet moments and the cast's authentic underplaying, though weighed down at times by speechifying.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/margin-call/)

## Screen Daily

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 25 January 2011. Festival review. 

Chandor's debut packs boardroom drama into a tight 24-hour window at an investment firm facing toxic assets. A dream-team cast delivers polished writing and direction that keeps a familiar story afloat despite its timely but potentially tired subject.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/margin-call/5022741.article)

## Time Out — Ben Walters

Rating 3/5. 10 January 2012. 

Chandor's debut is an ambiguous Wall Street procedural about a bank's overnight crisis response to toxic assets. Strong performances and accessible dialogue are undercut by a lack of moral perspective or outsider critique.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/margin-call)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Stephen Farber

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 26 January 2011. Festival review. 

The film lacks urgency and fails to make the financial details accessible or gripping, leaving the moral dilemmas feeling dry and abstruse despite a strong cast.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/sundance-review-margin-call-76310/)

## Digital Spy — Ben Rawson-Jones

Rating 4/5. 13 January 2012. 

The critic praises the film's accessible portrayal of the financial crisis through well-defined characters and strong ensemble performances, particularly highlighting Jeremy Irons' standout role. It is commended as a taut, impactful thriller that avoids sensationalism.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a359995/margin-call-review/)

## HeyUGuys — Lisa Giles-Keddie

Rating 4/5. 12 January 2012. 

The film is a gripping, sophisticated drama that humanizes bankers during the 2008 crisis through strong ensemble performances, especially from Spacey, Bettany, and Irons, while exposing greed without judgment.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/margin-call-review/)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 20 October 2011. 

The critic finds the film a savvy and involving look at the financial crisis, following employees over one night as they deal with impending doom. They single out the sharp ensemble performances, particularly those of Quinto, Irons, Moore, Spacey, and Bettany, for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/review-margin-call-savvy-look-wall-streeter-heroes-villains-they-crashed-32027/)

## The Skinny — Keir Roper-Caldbeck

Rating 3/5. 31 October 2012. 

The review notes the impressive cast and balanced approach to depicting the financial crisis without glorifying or demonizing the bankers, but criticizes the static, dialogue-heavy scenes that feel over-determined.

[Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/margin-call)

## Collider — Matt Goldberg

Rating C-. 21 October 2011. 

The film is a simplistic and inaccurate portrayal of the financial crisis that fails to explain the machinations or assign responsibility, resulting in empty characters and little drama or insight. Kevin Spacey's performance as a morally conflicted executive provides the only real saving grace.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/margin-call-review/)

## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 11 February 2011. 

Chandor shows talent in directing and framing, with a strong cast, but the script is dull, overly repetitive in its exposition, and slows the pace while failing to make characters relatable.

[Read the review](http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/margin-call-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson)

## /Film — David Chen

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 21 January 2011. Festival review. 

Despite strong performances and an intriguing premise, the film is undermined by repetitive dialogue, sluggish pacing, shallow characters, and a lack of emotional or dramatic depth.

[Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/513449/margin-call-review/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/margin-call.md