''Freefall'' is a BBC television film written and directed by

Dominic Savage Dominic Savage is a British BAFTA award-winning director, writer and actor. Originally a child actor, he made several television appearances and had a role in Stanley Kubrick's ''Barry Lyndon'' (1975). Savage moved into screenwriting and direct ...

, that premiered on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

on 14 July 2009. Set in autumn 2007, ''Freefall'' is a dramatic satire of the mortgage crisis that led to the worldwide economic downturn.

Dominic Cooper Dominic Edward Cooper (born 2 June 1978) is an English actor known for his portrayal of comic book characters Jesse Custer on the AMC show ''Preacher'' (2016–2019) and young Howard Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with appearances in ...

stars as Dave Matthews, a charismatic corporate psychopath who sells mortgages in

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, Hertfordshire, to families denied credit whether they can afford repayment or not. In the series, Dave meets up with an old school friend, Jim Potter (played by

Joseph Mawle Joseph Daniel Turner Mawle (born 21 March 1974) is an English actor. Mawle is best known for his roles as Jesus Christ in ''The Passion (TV serial), The Passion'' (2008), Benjen Stark in ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2017), Pete in ''Shell (2012 f ...

) who becomes another of Dave's mortgage victims. Despite a confrontation from Jim, Dave feels nothing and moves on to sell expensive solar panel packages to upper-middle-class house wives.

Aidan Gillen Aidan Murphy (born 1967 or 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is known for his roles as Stuart Alan Jones in ''Queer as Folk (British TV series), Queer as Folk'' (1999–2000); Tommy Carcetti in ''The Wire'' (2004–20 ...

stars as Gus, a high flying workaholic who sells corporate mortgages. This film highlights the delusional atmosphere of all walks of life prior to the economic collapse, from the naive working-class Jim to the high-flying

workaholic A workaholic is a person who works Compulsive behavior, compulsively. A workaholic experiences an inability to limit the amount of time they spend on work despite negative consequences such as damage to their relationships or health. There is no ...

Gus. Even Dave believes his own unfounded salesman

spiel Internationale Spieltage SPIEL, often called the Essen Game Fair after the city where it is held, is an annual four-day public boardgame trade fair held in October (Thursday to the following Sunday) at the Messe Essen exhibition centre in Essen ...

, crippling himself with a colossal £800,000 mortgage he quickly has to dispose of to "some rich mug". The film portrays the varying degrees of the collapse's effect on the different types of people involved, with Dave simply moving on to a different job compared to a complete breakdown and tragic end for Gus (shockingly the case for some bankers of the time). A critic noted that the series' take on the credit crunch by writer and director Savage had heartfelt approach, but was hurt with the lack of subtlety.

Cast

as Dave Matthews *

as Gus *

as Jim Potter *

Riz Ahmed Rizwan Ahmed (; born ) is a British actor and rapper. He has received several awards, including an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award with nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and two British Academy Film Awards. In 2017, he was name ...

as Gary *

Alfie Allen Alfie Evan Allen (born 12 September 1986) is an English actor. He portrayed Theon Greyjoy on all eight seasons of the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Ou ...

as Ian *

Anna Maxwell Martin Anna Maxwell Martin (born Anna Charlotte Martin; 10 May 1977), sometimes credited as Anna Maxwell-Martin, is an English actress who won two British Academy Television Awards, for her portrayals of Esther Summerson in the BBC adaptation of ''Ble ...

as Mandy *

Rosamund Pike Rosamund Mary Ellen Pike (born 1979) is an English actress and producer. Known for psychological thrillers and dramas, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rosamund Pike, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Em ...

as Anna

References

External links

* * BBC television dramas 2009 television films 2009 films British television films Films directed by Dominic Savage {{UK-tv-film-stub