Christophe Barratier (The Chorus) and the producer Jacques Perrin (Océans) have done it again. Having not read the book that the Trader Jérôme Kerviel wrote about his true story, I can't judge if the film is well adapted but what I can say is that the director and actors have done a good job portraying a World that normally goes unseen. The characters are better than real life thanks to Athur Dupont (Chacun sa nuit)and François-Xavier Demaison (who, strange as it may seem started off in life in international finance, before becoming a successful actor and humorist). True we don't get the same emotions that we get with such a storyteller such as Martin Scorsese with his "The Wolf of Wall street", even if the two films depict a similar kind of pattern that has repeated itself, but this time in Paris, France. But we come out of the theater with a lot of food for thought and having enjoyed some good acting.

Having worked in investment banks as a trader for many years, I always watch movies related to the industry. Some cannot capture the atmosphere of a trading room but this one actually does. Even if some bits are a bit simplistic -for that kind of size Kerviel traded a lot on the phone and with a lot more discretion-. Also a key component of JK being able to cheat the Soc Gen was to access the middle office system thanks to his previous position; this is totally absent from the movie. The fun part is the characters: his boss played by Demaison is exactly the kind of fat f**k psychos you find on a trading desk, FX plays it perfectly. Also his further bosses (the meerkat midget and the curly hair) are very close to their real life counterparts... Believe me I've know them (sorry guys). Basically those clowns had no clue what was going on and never questioned a trader who was making his budget 10 times over. They only lost 5 billion, making them the worst desk managers of all time. JK was totally out of his depth, dishonest andincompetent never makes a good combination but Soc Gen should haveknown better. Served them well.

Worth watching, way better than JK's book at least.

L'outsider relays the story of Jérôme Kerviel, derived from his autobiography, so some of the less savory anecdotes have no doubt been omitted. For example, his middle man used cocaine but he did not? Implausible. Anyway, despite the perspective flaw (as in other works, such as Goodfellas, which is also based on the main protagonist's version of the events...), the film is quite well made. Even though we already know how the story ends, the suspense builds effectively until the very end. The cinematography is also quite good.

Basically this is the portrait of a trader as a compulsive gambler. He could not resist pushing the limits further and further, until events beyond his control, the sub-prime mortgage crisis and global financial collapse of 2008, stopped him in his tracks. Yes, he was caught red-handed, having effectively destroyed Société Générale, which had to contend with the consequences of Kerviel's having fraudulently invested on the company's behalf.

Lots of interesting points come up, above all, that such firms are happy with their employees so long as the profits keep pouring in. It's only when trouble emerges that they investigate the possibility of malfeasance. In fact, this film strongly suggests that the corporate culture invites employees to "bend the rules" in order to succeed. Greed is good!