Over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis, the key people at a investment bank struggle to decide how to handle an emergency business situation while examining the personal and moral implications of every action they take.

Director J.C. Chandor made his feature debut with this sizzling inside take on the subprime mortgage crisis. With a starry ensemble cast that includes Paul Bettany, Demi Moore, and—on glorious, leonine form—Jeremy Irons, Margin Call is a Mametian procedural that trades in ruthless moral detachment.