We All Fall Down: The American Mortgage Crisis

Gary Gasgarth's timely documentary We All Fall Down presents an informative primer on the reasons behind the U.S. housing market collapse in 2008, which in turn precipitated the unraveling of the global economy. Combining archival and newly-filmed footage, well-chosen graphics, and insightful expert interviews, the film traces the evolution of the mortgage business, originally handled by local companies run on personal knowledge, careful analysis, and trust, but later controlled by huge, impersonal national institutions that not only prized quantity over quality but also devised mechanisms of bundling loans into financial instruments that could be traded like stocks and bonds. Along the way, We All Fall Down explains economic jargon such as “subprime” and “securitization” in layman terms, as it paints a sad portrait of greed, self-deception, and arrogance—one that apportions blame fairly, targeting unscrupulous mortgage brokers and heedless lenders, but also incompetent regulators, politicians who encouraged reckless policies (out of blindness, ambition, or both), and even individuals who jumped at deals that a thoughtful person should have realized carried enormous risk. The film personalizes the crisis by including interviews with some of the meltdown's victims, people who are desperately struggling to hold onto their homes in the face of the foreclosure tidal wave sweeping the country. Offering a clear, concise, and at times emotionally wrenching explanation of a national tragedy, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)