Hard Economic Times

Yesterday I wrote about "Up In The Air," which is one of the films listed on my favorite films. It does a nice job of chronicling an important but somewhat less talked about cinematic exploration of our recent history — the financial crisis.

Lately I've been intrigued by the financial crisis, and some of the explorations of it. Though it's drawn far less publicity than the reflections on the war, books and movies have begun to consider the effects of this last market crash, recession, and joblessness on the public. One of the things I liked about "Up In The Air" was that it gave voice, if briefly, to those who were suddenly cut adrift. Clooney's character talks about this in one of my favorite lines from the film.

He says, "We are here to make limbo tolerable, to ferry wounded souls across the river of dread until the point where hope is dimly visible."

The film offers a snapshot, but two years later we've gotten more of an exploration — some grounded in history and some a fictional exploration of what people have been going through. Having taken all of it in and reflected, I thought I would share some thoughts.

First, I started reading a book — "All the Devils are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis." The 364-page non-fiction book chronicles the history of abuses in the mortgage and mortgage-backed security market over the last 30 years. The book does a great job of explaining how the situation spiraled out of control, the major players that led to the situation, and the rampant greed that nearly caused the system to collapse. I won't say it was inspirational, but it was fascinating.

HBO also did it's part to shed light on the crisis — offer the docudrama "Too Big to Fail," based on another book, that showcases the tense period between July and October, 2008, where things really fell apart. The film focuses on the perspective of Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson (William Hurt), doing a great job of shedding light on the behind-the-scenes action that defined the crisis.

Finally, I recently saw a small film called "Company Men," featuring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, and Chris Cooper as three executives at a ship building company hit hard by the economic crisis. The film — released in late 2010 and written and directed by John Wells — sort of picks up the story where "Up In The Air" leaves off. You follow all three as they try to find direction and purpose and struggle to provide with their families after being laid off. The performances are moving, as is the production of the story. It's a beautifully shot and told story, but one that didn't get a lot of attention.

Doubtless telling stories of the economic crisis isn't as exciting as telling stories from the battle lines, but it's hard to imagine anything more relevant or more important.