Too Big to Fail – Everyone working from Wall Street to Main Street has most likely heard about, if not read this best-selling piece of literature by Andrew Ross Sorkin which details the financial crisis of 2008. Recently HBO decided to take this best-seller and turn it into a film.
Prior to working here at FTF, I must confess that I did not follow all of the events that led the U.S. economy to where it is today, but over the past year I havetoobigtofail williamhurt 652 article story main resized 600 learned a great deal from our clients and through research for our conferences on the events that took place to create the 2008 financial 
crisis and how it effects the financial climate today. When I heard that HBO created the movie Too Big to Fail I decided this would be another great opportunity to learn more about it in perhaps a more simplified manner because, let’s face it, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all of the financial jargon that is tossed around.
I sat down last week to watch Too Big to Fail, not so much expecting to be entertained but rather to be educated. When the film ended however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did I feel like I finally understood, with complete clarity, the events that led to the 2008 financial crisis, but I was extremely entertained at the same time. As the New York Times pointed out, “It’s not easy to create a financial thriller,” but director Curtis Hanson succeeded. He used phone calls between characters, such as Treasury secretary Hank Paulson and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to create a great sense of dread and doom that you cannot help needing to know what happens next.
The true ‘ah ha’ moment for me came during one particular scene where the Treasury Department’s head of public affairs asks, “What do I tell the press?” when she was trying to figure out how to explain that we ended up where we are right now because of events X, Y and Z. For the next several minutes the men in the room take the time to explain things in such a way that even those like myself living on Main Street could say, ‘so that’s how it happened!’ I suggest that everyone take the time to search for this clip. (I would have posted it myself but the, HBO film language can get a little out of hand!)
I further suggest that not only do you search for that clip, but you also take the time to sit down and watch this great movie! I‘ve watched it twice now and was equally if not more amazed the second time around at how this movie captures those dark and desperate weeks of 2008. It was extremely well done and I believe extremely close to the actual events of those days. Check out the trailer if you don’t believe me! If you’ve already seen it let me know what you thought as well!
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