Movie Poster

Straight, straight, straight.

# Review

This movie is loosely based on the story of Spread Networks, a project that sought to build a fiber optic cable line inbetween Chicago and New Jersey (in the movie it's from Kansas to New Jersey) which was featurd in Michael Lewis' Flash Boys. The purpose of constructing such a line is so that HFTs can continue their zero-sum game of trying to trade faster in order to benefit from tiny arbitrage opportunities. The film isn't overly technical (not that I expected it to be), but it does a good job portraying the high stakes of the millisecond-long game.

Nguyen has the unenviable task of not only explaining concepts that are highly technical, but to also do so in an entertaining fashion. To that end, I thought that although the film didn't dive into the nuances of the situation and instead chose to add some dramatic flair by juxtaposing the fiber project with an Amish community, the film did enough to explain the basic concepts so that the viewers can appreciate the urgency of the situation. The film also wasn't terrible to watch; I especially liked the foil between Jesse Eisenberg's ambitious and ruthless hustler character, and his vulnerable and simple yet highly intelligent cousin, portrayed by Alexander Skarsgård. The duo reminded me of George and Lennie from Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.

This film is corny, such as the story about unscrewing the pipes as well as Salma Hayek's portrayal of an HFT trader, who resembles more a trader from the 80's than the tech nerds actually running the sophisticated HFT algos of today. There are enough serious details that were well-done, however, such as the portrayal of the two cousins' Russian immigrant family, which made up for the cheesiness of other scenes.

# Conclusion

A pretty good movie about HFT.

# Overall rating: 7.6

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