Sunday Matinee #170 The Big Short
Shocked, stunned, and wide awake.
When revelation strikes Mark Baum and “Doubting” Thomas, it proves that seeing is believing.
The Big Short | 2015
IMDb | Letterboxd | RRMC
Context: Mark Baum (Steve Carrell) is trying to learn just what is happening with banks, mortgages, and the economy. He dives deeper into more meetings, and speaks with Mr. Chau (Byron Mann), who explains what he does as a CDO. For Chau, his pockets are more than lined. For Baum, his mind is blown, and his frenemy colleague, Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), chimes in with voiceover to tell us just how blown his mind is.
Baum leans in at the table as he questions Chau.
BAUM: All right, let’s say you have a pool of $50 million in subprime loans. How much money could be out there betting on it, in your synthetic CDOs and swaps right now, tonight?
CHAU: Let’s see, $50 million... Hmm… A billion dollars.
BAUM: What?
JARED (Voiceover): If the mortgage bonds that Michael Burry discovered were the match…
BAUM: How much bigger is the market for insuring mortgage bonds than actual mortgages?
CHAU: About 20 times.
Baum’s jaw drops. His eyes widen. He puts his hand to his brow, turns away. The frame freezes, focusing on Baum’s sheer shock.
JARED: If the mortgage bonds were the match and the CDOs were the kerosene-soaked rags, then the synthetic CDO was the atomic bomb with the drunk President holding his finger over the button. It was at that moment in that dumb restaurant with that stupid look on his face that Mark Baum realized that the whole world economy might collapse.
John 20:19-31 | EnterTheBible.org
Second Sunday of Easter | 04.12.2026
Context: Jesus died, Jesus lives! The disciples encounter Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit, but one of them wasn’t there. Absent from seeing this miracle, Thomas pray he gets what they get – a revelation of gospel.
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
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Commentary:
I avoided The Big Short for a long time. I didn’t necessarily think it would glorify those who turned millions into billions by jumping on the scam band wagon. But I wasn’t necessarily excited to see that story, either. Yet I heard it was great. It even won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
I had to see it to believe it.
What I found was a fascinating depiction of the events that went down. The story is compelling, the explanatory segues are charming and helpful, and the heroes… well, I’m not sure if there are heroes. But there are many revelations of the truth along the way.
As investors try to figure out what the subprime mortgage business was doing and how it was happening, one by one they learn this and that. Each time there’s a new revelation, there’s initial shock and then a chance to determine how they will respond. In most cases, it ends up a place to make more money. In at least a few cases, they contemplate their role, their responsibility, their place in the machine that’s seemingly “too big to fail.” Then, they act.
They aren’t always excited about what that action means for everyone. But they act.
This story is revelation upon revelation, and we get to watch them wake up one by one to the financial world around them. In this brief scene where Michael Baum finally gets it, he is dumbfounded by the money picture. The film literally pauses, a freeze frame on Baum’s shocked face, and takes yet another moment to explain the money stuff for people like you and me. As far as he can tell, the world is changed forever.
I am not one to call Thomas by the unearned nickname, “Doubting Thomas.” I continue to uphold that he was “Absent Thomas.” He only wanted to have what everyone else wanted. He wanted to see what they saw. He wanted a new revelation.
When Thomas finally saw Jesus in his resurrection, he got it. Jesus invites him to do go further than what he wanted. Thomas said he needed to see his wounds; Jesus invites him to touch his wounds. He doesn’t have to, however.
He merely had to see it to believe it.
When Thomas cries out, “My Lord and my God!” he takes it a step further than the rest of the disciples. Earlier that week, they’d told him, “We have seen the Lord.” That’s great, because that’s sharing faith or evangelism and we in the Midwest are in awe at such vulnerability with other people, yikes. Thomas proclaims his faith in Jesus directly to Jesus. You are my Lord! As far as he can tell, the world is changed forever. Then Jesus says not only are you blessed for seeing, but consider those who will come later than you and they won’t see like you did and they will believe.
While I knew a bit about the schemes and scams that make up the story of The Big Short, I had to finally see for myself. I got new revelations right alongside the character as they realized just how big the big short got. It’s okay to want in on the information, to experience what others had. How do we hold tight to faith when we don’t see the big picture? Who do we trust about their new revelation? When have you had to see to believe?
And my goodness, let’s not avoid great movies because of tough subject matter too much. I’m talking to myself a bit here, Dear Reader. And of course, that’s part of what R-Rated Movie Club is about. Glad you’re here!
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Glad you’re here today, Dear Reader. God’s peace and good movies to you!