HBO's newest TV movie is Too Big to Fail, a tale of the 2008 financial crisis in the United States, based on the book of the same name by New York Times financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin. Events follow real life, as Henry Paulson (William Hurt, Damages, Into the Wild), Timothy Geithner (Billy Crudup, Almost Famous, Watchmen), Ben Bernanke (Paul Giamatti, John Adams, Sideways), and their staffs try to prevent the next great depression. After bailing out Bear Sterns, Paulson is determined not to do the same for Lehman Brothers. He gathers the heads of the major investment banks, trying to push them into a private sector solution. When deals fall through, Paulson 
lets Lehman go bankrupt, and the economy goes from bad to worse as a result. The government employees scramble for another solution before a chain reaction cripples the country.
Adding to the realism are actual news clips from the time, showing the real politicians and reports as the financial system gets worse and worse. These are not actors, played up for dramatic effect. These are real people reporting real stories. And Jon Stewart, ripping John McCain a (deservedly) new one.
Is it a fair and balanced look at the fall of 2008? That's debatable. The writers have an opinion and a slant, as any dramatic work must, and so there is some bias towards certain parties.
But there is also some grey area and debate, and so Too Big to Fail tries hard, and mostly succeeds, to at least give most everyone the benefit of the doubt. Or at least consideration that issues are complicated.
The sprawling cast is top notch. There is a lot of star power, many in small roles, such as Ed Asner as Warren Buffett. Yet, not a single actor stands out as being inferior to the others. If anything can be said about HBO's films, it's that they do not shirk on casting. Each actor and actress shows a depth that really brings the characters, which are closely based on real people, to life in an authentic way. Most are matched quite well in looks, aided by expert makeup, though Crudup probably least physically resembles his counterpart, of the primary three.
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