Every American should watch 'Too Big to Fail'

Trailer

The banking crisis that continues to ripple through -- and rip through -- economies worldwide is a difficult event to understand.

Millions of words have been written on its past and present, most notably by Michael Lewis (his Vaniety Fair piece on the Irish banking collapse is long but well worth reading). But for many people, the back story remains murky and impenetrable. 

That's why HBO's "Too Big to Fail" should be required watching for all Americans. The star-studded movie brilliantly explains a very complex topic with the pace of a thriller. You're on the edge of your seat without knowing you're actually getting a rich history lesson in how greedy banks became overleveraged in tapping a financial house of cards, and how a few dozen people furiously worked to keep the world financial markets from buckling under the pressure. 

Because the developed world likely came within hours of financial collapse, it's important that we all take notice and learn lessons so this crisis doesn't recur. Invest the 1 hour, 45 minutes "Too Big to Fail" takes in documenting the fraud that enveloped America, cost millions their jobs, toppled a few European countries, and who knows what else lies around the corner. 

I won't give away the chilling ending, when William Hurt, starring as Treasury Secretery Henry Paulsen, can't help but feel like the boy with his thumb in the dike. But it's a scene you'll never forget. 

"Too Big to Fail" left me feeling that America -- and the world -- hasn't been this close to such a man-made catastrophe since the Cuban Missile Crisis. I'm hoping we don't have another near miss in my lifetime.