Too Big to Fail (2011)

Too Big to Fail is a docudrama about the economic crisis in the US in 2008. Here is some basic information about this drama which premiered on US television (HBO) in 2011:

** Director: Curtis Hanson (1945-2016)
** Writer: Peter Gould
** Based on the book Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin (published in 2009)
** Available on DVD and via Amazon Prime Video
** Run time: 99 minutes

The cast includes the following:

** William Hurt as Henry Paulson – US Treasury Secretary, former chairman and CEO at Goldman Sachs

** Topher Grace as Jim Wilkinson – chief of staff: US Treasury Department

** Cynthia Nixon as Michele Davis – Assistant Secretary of the Treasury

** James Woods as Richard Fuld – chairman and CEO at Lehman Brothers

** John Heard as Joe Gregory – president and COO at Lehman Brothers

** Amy Carlson as Erin Callan – CFO at Lehman Brothers

** Paul Giamatti as Ben Bernanke – chairman of the Federal Reserve

** Edward Asner as Warren Buffet – an important businessman

** Kathy Baker as Wendy Paulson – Henry’s wife

While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here. But the basic story is true.

Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore I do not have to mention all of them in this review.

THE SETTING

The story takes place in the US. In New York and Washington, DC.

THE TIME FRAME

The story runs from August to October 2008.

In this drama, we follow important government officials and top leaders in the world of finance. We see how they meet and talk about the current situation. By now it is too late to prevent an economic crisis. The task they have to solve is to find a way to avoid a total collapse of the economic system.

What do reviewers say about this drama? Here are the results of two review aggregators:

** 73 per cent = IMDb
** 74 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes

On the US version of Amazon there are more than a thousand reviews of this product. The average rating is 4.5 stars.

If you ask me, all these ratings are too high. Why do I say this? Because this drama has a fatal flaw: the time frame is too short!

This drama does not explain the origin of the economic crisis:

** How and why did this crisis happen?

** How could financial institutions allow this crisis to happen?

** How could government officials fail to perform their basic obligation as controllers of private industry?

** Who was responsible? What price did they pay?

Some of the characters that we meet in this drama – in particular Henry Paulson - are presented as heroes, because they save the US and the world from a total economic collapse. I am not convinced that these people should be regarded as heroes.

This drama is not great; it is not even good; it is just average; and therefore it cannot get more than three stars.

PS. For more information and for additional background, see the following documentary films:

** Collapse (2009)

** American Casino (2009)

** Inside Job (2010)

** The Flaw (2011)

** Heist: Who Stole the American Dream? (2011)

** Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve (2013)

** Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (2016)

** Inside Lehman Brothers (2018)

*****