Having just seen this movie for the first time on DVD its message in light of the recent financial meltdown and scandals i would say (forgive the pun) was on the money.
As for the script itself although far from perfect it is a decent effort which held my attention for the full duration. For a relatively low budget film the cinematography is excellent and the story is well paced. Most movies require some suspension of disbelief this being no exception - as for the mathematics and the prediction concept i'm not so sure. The banker certainly comes up with some crazy sums on his compound interest calculation in the opening flashback scene.
For all the screen time the character of Jim Doyle (played by David Wenham) has and despite what we learn his character still seems underdeveloped. The cause of death of the child in the films pivotal subplot remains unexplained. Perhaps its more interesting to speculate.
How often the bad guys steal the show and this is no exception - i give you Anthony LaPaglia's unscrupulous banker. Playing an American with a convincing accent he is so morally bankrupt you just want him to get his comeuppance and yet he plays by far the most interesting character in the movie. Nor is he alone as only one member of the banks board protests at his request to in effect break the "flexible" banking laws to cash in on the predicted pending market collapse. Sibylla Budd pops up for a love interest role which she was to repeat in the similarly themed but inferior (also Australian) movie The Bet.
As for the script itself although far from perfect it is a decent effort which held my attention for the full duration. For a relatively low budget film the cinematography is excellent and the story is well paced. Most movies require some suspension of disbelief this being no exception - as for the mathematics and the prediction concept i'm not so sure. The banker certainly comes up with some crazy sums on his compound interest calculation in the opening flashback scene.
For all the screen time the character of Jim Doyle (played by David Wenham) has and despite what we learn his character still seems underdeveloped. The cause of death of the child in the films pivotal subplot remains unexplained. Perhaps its more interesting to speculate.
How often the bad guys steal the show and this is no exception - i give you Anthony LaPaglia's unscrupulous banker. Playing an American with a convincing accent he is so morally bankrupt you just want him to get his comeuppance and yet he plays by far the most interesting character in the movie. Nor is he alone as only one member of the banks board protests at his request to in effect break the "flexible" banking laws to cash in on the predicted pending market collapse. Sibylla Budd pops up for a love interest role which she was to repeat in the similarly themed but inferior (also Australian) movie The Bet.