Great Scene: “The Big Short”

Margot Robbie. A bubble bath. Champagne. And subprime loans.

The 2015 movie The Big Short does something amazing: It not only manages to explore the confusing world of high finance, but also do so in an entertaining manner.

Plot summary: In 2006–2007 a group of investors bet against the US mortgage market. In their research, they discover how flawed and corrupt the market is.

Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, based on a book by Michael Lewis

Scene setup: Michael Burry (Christian Bale) wants to … well … let him try to explain it.

Confused? That’s where Modern Trader (Ryan Gosling) and a Hollywood starlet come in.

But wait. It’s not Scarlett Johansson in a waterfall in the movie. It’s Margot Robbie in a bubble bath.

Robbie has quite a bit more dialogue than the script. Plus, there are some nifty cinematic cut-ins to make the scene even more entertaining.

And that’s the thing that’s so remarkable about the movie: It informs … and entertains.

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