2008. Eric Dale (Tucci) is fired from his job at a Wall Street investment firm. On his way out, he hands a USB stick to one of his colleagues Peter (Quinto), with words of caution - "Be careful". What Peter finds are signals that the excrement is about to hit the fan, and what follows are a frantic and amoral 24 hours of meetings, stock dumps and ruthless decisions.

The first indication of the quality of the film should be the cast; Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Mary McDonnell. The three men are at the top of their game here, and even though McDonnell is wasted in a one-scene coda, she is still effective in putting the final splashes on Spacey's character (in regard to which living creatures he cares for and which ones he doesn't). The second clue should be the Oscar-nominated screenplay by unknown J. C. Chandor (who also directed). It's gripping, tense, and gives all the actors memorable lines and speeches.

If you remember the major events of 2008, then you'll probably guess where this is all going, but the journey is still worth it. A scintillating companion piece to the excellent documentary Inside Job (screened by ANUFG in Semester 2, 2011), this is an explosive indictment of the 1% (they even slightly allude to companies like Lehman Brothers) that is one of the must-sees on this semester's programme.