The Last Days of Lehman Brothers
Encyclopedia
The Last Days of Lehman Brothers is a British
television film, first broadcast on BBC Two
and BBC HD
on Wednesday 9 September 2009. Filmed in London
, it was written by Craig Warner
and directed by Michael Samuels. It was shown as part of the BBC's "Aftershock" season, a selection of programmes marking the first anniversary of the collapse
of the American
investment bank
Lehman Brothers
. It featured James Cromwell
, Ben Daniels
, Corey Johnson
, Michael Landes
and James Bolam
.
Investment bank Lehman Brothers is in trouble after a turbulent six months in which their real estate investments have lost billions of dollars, in turn causing steep drops in Lehman's stock. Lehman's boss, Dick Fuld (Corey Johnson
), has managed to bring the company out of other crises, but even he is growing desperate. Fuld's plan to spinoff the company's bad assets into a separate company does not satisfy investors, and Lehman stock drops by 75% in one week. Fuld's only remaining solution is a buy-out of Lehman, with either Bank of America
or Barclay Bank. The banks want Lehman, but are dissuaded because so much of Lehman's assets are "toxic", worthless.
Late on the afternoon of 12 September, Friday, the leaders of the top investment banks on Wall Street
, Lehman's competitors, meet at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
. American Treasury Secretary
Hank Paulson
declares that the company is not too big to fail
and that there will be no bailout using public money. Instead, Paulsen cajoles the bank heads to work out some joint plan among themselves to relieve Lehman of its toxic assets, warning them that they will soon face the same crisis. A solution must be found before trading opens in Japan on Monday morning.
By Friday evening, Bank of America begins stalling the deal, noting that Lehman's valuation puts them "underwater"
by billions of dollars. Fuld must now depend on Barclays, and he is clearly growing desperate. Retaining hopes that Bank of America will change its mind, Fuld has the firm's attorney Harvey R. Miller
(Richard Durden)begin drafting a bankruptcy petition
.
Discussion continue at the Fed throughout Saturday with little result. John Thain
of Merrill Lynch
(Ben Daniels
) pulls out of Paulsen's bailout group, telling Paulsen that his company is in discussions with Bank of America. As they are no longer committed to Lehman, Bank of America is free to consider acquiring Merrill Lynch, which desperately needs the deal. Paulsen tells Thain that the Fed is preparing to bailout AIG
, whose Credit default swap
s insure half of the western world's banking system.
By Sunday morning, Fuld receives word that Barclays has agreed to acquire Lehman Brothers, meaning that the firm is saved. Jubilation is shortlived. Under British law, Barclays cannot guarantee Lehman's debts until its own shareholders vote on the matter, and that will not happen until Tuesday - beyind the Morning morning deadline. Paulsen reiterates that the Fed will not back up Lehman, not even for the 2 days it will take for Barclays's shareholders to vote. With no chance of a buyout, Lehman has no choice but to file for bankruptcy.
and was produced following a collaboration between the BBC's factual and drama departments. The production is a work of fiction based on the real events that took place; the story was put together after watching interviews and with off-the-record chats with well-placed sources. It was completed in a short time frame; five weeks for scriptwriting, two for filming and five for editing. It was written by Craig Warner
(writer of Maxwell
and The Queen's Sister
), directed by Michael Samuels (Caught in a Trap, The Curse of Steptoe
) and produced by Lisa Osborne (Little Dorrit
).
Warner told ABCNews.com that he tried to make the film "fun and comprehensible" because "a bunch of white guys sitting around in suits talking about money isn't very interesting." The fictional character of Zach (played by Michael Landes
) was introduced as Fuld's aide, and Landes says that the voiceover he gives "brings an element of humor".
Osborne said that the production was about much more than just finance:
Due to the low budget, locations in London were sought instead of those in New York. Locations included Addington Palace
near Croydon
which acted as the Federal Reserve, and a disused office in London
's Canary Wharf
which served as Fuld's New York office. Coincidentally, the office had previously been used by Lehman Brothers and desks originally used by the company were used to dress the set.
2010 FIFA World Cup
qualifier on ITV1
, Motorway Cops on BBC One
and Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA
on Channel 4
.
Robert Epstein
of The Independent on Sunday said it was "all very fast-moving" and that "ultimately, it was hard not to be bored by what was one of the most important – and dramatic – events of the past year. The end of Lehman – and the programme – couldn't come soon enough." The Guardian
' s Sam Wollaston didn't think his boredom was entirely his fault, saying he found it "unengaging" and "a mess". Tim Teeman of The Times
said that "some vivid performances transcended the baffling material" and John Preston of The Daily Telegraph
said:
Rachel Cooke in the New Statesman
also said that Warner "tried his best" but that it was "dull and confusing in spite of a cast that included the superb James Cromwell". She also said that documentary The Love of Money about the Lehman Brothers collapse "wiped the floor" with The Last Days of Lehman Brothers, but Adam Sweeting said, comparing the drama and the documentary, that the latter "gives you a lot more numbers and facts, but rather less human insight."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television film, first broadcast on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
and BBC HD
BBC HD
BBC HD is a high-definition television network provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007...
on Wednesday 9 September 2009. Filmed in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, it was written by Craig Warner
Craig Warner
Craig Warner is a playwright and screenwriter who lives and works in Suffolk, England. He wrote The Queen's Sister for Channel 4, which was nominated for several BAFTA awards , Maxwell for BBC2, which starred David Suchet as Robert Maxwell, and The Last Days of Lehman Brothers, for which he was...
and directed by Michael Samuels. It was shown as part of the BBC's "Aftershock" season, a selection of programmes marking the first anniversary of the collapse
Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15, 2008. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers remains the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S...
of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
investment bank
Investment banking
An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...
. It featured James Cromwell
James Cromwell
James Oliver Cromwell is an American film and television actor. Some of his more notable roles are in Babe , for which he earned Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, Star Trek: First Contact , L.A...
, Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , he has taken on roles in numerous productions...
, Corey Johnson
Corey Johnson
Corey Johnson is an American actor largely active in the United Kingdom. Johnson was born John Johnson in New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Michael Landes
Michael Landes
Michael Christopher Landes is an American actor. He is known for his roles of Jimmy Olsen in the first season of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Detective Nicholas O'Malley in Special Unit 2, Officer Thomas Burke in Final Destination 2, and David Conlon in The Wedding Bells.-Lois...
and James Bolam
James Bolam
James Christopher Bolam, MBE is a British actor, best known for his roles as Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes In, Trevor Chaplin in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Terry Collier in The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Roy Figgis in Only When I Laugh, Dr Arthur Gilder in...
.
Synopsis
The drama was inspired by the real events that occurred over the weekend leading up to the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers on Monday 15 September, 2008.Investment bank Lehman Brothers is in trouble after a turbulent six months in which their real estate investments have lost billions of dollars, in turn causing steep drops in Lehman's stock. Lehman's boss, Dick Fuld (Corey Johnson
Corey Johnson
Corey Johnson is an American actor largely active in the United Kingdom. Johnson was born John Johnson in New Orleans, Louisiana....
), has managed to bring the company out of other crises, but even he is growing desperate. Fuld's plan to spinoff the company's bad assets into a separate company does not satisfy investors, and Lehman stock drops by 75% in one week. Fuld's only remaining solution is a buy-out of Lehman, with either Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
or Barclay Bank. The banks want Lehman, but are dissuaded because so much of Lehman's assets are "toxic", worthless.
Late on the afternoon of 12 September, Friday, the leaders of the top investment banks on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
, Lehman's competitors, meet at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is located at 33 Liberty Street, New York, NY. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses New York state, the 12 northern counties of New Jersey,...
. American Treasury Secretary
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
Hank Paulson
Henry Paulson
Henry Merritt "Hank" Paulson, Jr. is an American banker who served as the 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury. He previously served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs.-Early life and family:...
declares that the company is not too big to fail
Too Big to Fail
Too Big to Fail is a television drama film in the United States broadcast on HBO on May 23, 2011. It is based on the non-fiction book Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin. The TV film was directed by Curtis Hanson...
and that there will be no bailout using public money. Instead, Paulsen cajoles the bank heads to work out some joint plan among themselves to relieve Lehman of its toxic assets, warning them that they will soon face the same crisis. A solution must be found before trading opens in Japan on Monday morning.
By Friday evening, Bank of America begins stalling the deal, noting that Lehman's valuation puts them "underwater"
Negative equity
Negative equity occurs when the value of an asset used to secure a loan is less than the outstanding balance on the loan. In the United States, assets with negative equity are often referred to as being "underwater", and loans and borrowers with negative equity are said to be "upside down".People...
by billions of dollars. Fuld must now depend on Barclays, and he is clearly growing desperate. Retaining hopes that Bank of America will change its mind, Fuld has the firm's attorney Harvey R. Miller
Harvey R. Miller
Harvey R. Miller is an American lawyer. The New York Times called him “the most prominent bankruptcy lawyer in the nation.” Born in New York City, Miller was admitted to bar in New York State in 1959...
(Richard Durden)begin drafting a bankruptcy petition
Chapter 7, Title 11, United States Code
Chapter 7 of the Title 11 of the United States Code governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States...
.
Discussion continue at the Fed throughout Saturday with little result. John Thain
John Thain
John Alexander Thain is an American businessman, investment banker, and currently chairman and CEO of the CIT Group.Thain was the last chairman and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch before its merger with Bank of America...
of Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
(Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , he has taken on roles in numerous productions...
) pulls out of Paulsen's bailout group, telling Paulsen that his company is in discussions with Bank of America. As they are no longer committed to Lehman, Bank of America is free to consider acquiring Merrill Lynch, which desperately needs the deal. Paulsen tells Thain that the Fed is preparing to bailout AIG
American International Group
American International Group, Inc. or AIG is an American multinational insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters is located in the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters office is on Fenchurch Street in London, continental Europe operations are based in...
, whose Credit default swap
Credit default swap
A credit default swap is similar to a traditional insurance policy, in as much as it obliges the seller of the CDS to compensate the buyer in the event of loan default...
s insure half of the western world's banking system.
By Sunday morning, Fuld receives word that Barclays has agreed to acquire Lehman Brothers, meaning that the firm is saved. Jubilation is shortlived. Under British law, Barclays cannot guarantee Lehman's debts until its own shareholders vote on the matter, and that will not happen until Tuesday - beyind the Morning morning deadline. Paulsen reiterates that the Fed will not back up Lehman, not even for the 2 days it will take for Barclays's shareholders to vote. With no chance of a buyout, Lehman has no choice but to file for bankruptcy.
Cast
- Corey JohnsonCorey JohnsonCorey Johnson is an American actor largely active in the United Kingdom. Johnson was born John Johnson in New Orleans, Louisiana....
as Richard 'Dick' Fuld - James CromwellJames CromwellJames Oliver Cromwell is an American film and television actor. Some of his more notable roles are in Babe , for which he earned Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, Star Trek: First Contact , L.A...
as Henry 'Hank' PaulsonHenry PaulsonHenry Merritt "Hank" Paulson, Jr. is an American banker who served as the 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury. He previously served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs.-Early life and family:... - James BolamJames BolamJames Christopher Bolam, MBE is a British actor, best known for his roles as Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes In, Trevor Chaplin in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Terry Collier in The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Roy Figgis in Only When I Laugh, Dr Arthur Gilder in...
as Ken LewisKen LewisKen Lewis may refer to:*Ken Lewis , former head of Bank of America*Ken Lewis , session drummer*Ken Lewis *Kenneth Lewis, UK politician... - Michael LandesMichael LandesMichael Christopher Landes is an American actor. He is known for his roles of Jimmy Olsen in the first season of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Detective Nicholas O'Malley in Special Unit 2, Officer Thomas Burke in Final Destination 2, and David Conlon in The Wedding Bells.-Lois...
as Zach - Ben DanielsBen DanielsBen Daniels is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , he has taken on roles in numerous productions...
as John ThainJohn ThainJohn Alexander Thain is an American businessman, investment banker, and currently chairman and CEO of the CIT Group.Thain was the last chairman and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch before its merger with Bank of America... - William HopeWilliam HopeColonel William Hope VC was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
as Bart McDadeBart McDadeHerbert "Bart" H. McDade III was the President and COO of Lehman Brothers at the time of its bankruptcy. During the end of Lehman's existence, McDade was tasked with largely running the firm and saving it as the then CEO, Richard Fuld was largely sidelined.... - Michael BrandonMichael BrandonMichael Brandon is an American actor who resides in the United Kingdom and United States.-Life and career:Brandon was born Michael Feldman in Brooklyn, New York to Miriam and Sol Feldman...
as Jamie DimonJamie DimonJames "Jamie" Dimon is a business executive. He is the current chairman, president and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, and previously served as a Class A director of the Board of Directors of the New York Federal Reserve, a three year term which started January 2007... - Henry GoodmanHenry GoodmanHenry Goodman is a British theatre actor. He trained at RADA in London alongside Jonathan Pryce.In 1988, he played George Green's brother-in-law Cyril in London's Burning. He played character roles in episodes of the popular UK police drama The Bill...
as John MackJohn J. MackJohn J. Mack is the current Chairman of the Board at Morgan Stanley, the New York-based investment bank and brokerage firm. Mack announced his retirement as Chief Executive Officer on September 10, 2009, which was effective January 1, 2010. Former Co-President James P... - Alex JenningsAlex JenningsAlex Jennings is an English actor whose roles have included Charles, Prince of Wales in The Queen .-Early years:...
as Tim Geithner - Peter PolycarpouPeter PolycarpouPeter Polycarpou is a British stage and TV and film actor, best known for playing Chris Theodopolopoudos in the television comedy series Birds of a Feather.-Career:...
as Lloyd BlankfeinLloyd BlankfeinLloyd Craig Blankfein is an American business executive. He is currently the CEO and Chairman of Goldman Sachs. He has been in this position since the May 31, 2006 nomination of former CEO Henry Paulson as Secretary of the Treasury under George W... - David Annen as Greg Fleming
- Richard Durden as Harvey Miller
- Joshua DallasJoshua DallasJoshua Dallas is an American actor who played Fandral in Thor, a film adaptation based on the Marvel Comics character. He is currently starring in the ABC television series Once Upon a Time.-Early life:...
as Ace - Laura Brook as Donna Lewis
- Katrena Rochell as Ezzy
- Lauren Ward as Samantha
Production
The film followed previous BBC drama FreefallFreefall (TV programme)
Freefall is a BBC television film written and directed by Dominic Savage, that premièred on BBC Two on 14 July 2009.Set in the fall of 2007, Freefall is a dramatic satire of the mortgage crisis that led to the worldwide economic downturn...
and was produced following a collaboration between the BBC's factual and drama departments. The production is a work of fiction based on the real events that took place; the story was put together after watching interviews and with off-the-record chats with well-placed sources. It was completed in a short time frame; five weeks for scriptwriting, two for filming and five for editing. It was written by Craig Warner
Craig Warner
Craig Warner is a playwright and screenwriter who lives and works in Suffolk, England. He wrote The Queen's Sister for Channel 4, which was nominated for several BAFTA awards , Maxwell for BBC2, which starred David Suchet as Robert Maxwell, and The Last Days of Lehman Brothers, for which he was...
(writer of Maxwell
Maxwell (film)
Maxwell is a 2007 drama about Robert Maxwell, starring David Suchet as Maxwell and Patricia Hodge as his wife Betty. It was written by Craig Warner and directed by Colin Barr. Maxwell aired on BBC2. Suchet was later awarded an International Emmy for his performance....
and The Queen's Sister
The Queen's Sister
The Queen's Sister is a 2005 British television movie directed by Simon Cellan Jones. The teleplay by Craig Warner is a semi-fictionalized account of the life of Princess Margaret, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, from 1952 until the mid-1970s. It was produced by Touchpaper Television,...
), directed by Michael Samuels (Caught in a Trap, The Curse of Steptoe
The Curse of Steptoe
The Curse of Steptoe is a television play which was first broadcast on 19 March 2008 on BBC Four as part of a season of dramas about television personalities. It stars Jason Isaacs as Harry H. Corbett and Phil Davis as Wilfrid Brambell...
) and produced by Lisa Osborne (Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit (TV serial)
Little Dorrit is a 2008 British television serial directed by Adam Smith, Dearbhla Walsh, and Diarmuid Lawrence. The teleplay by Andrew Davies is based on the serial novel of the same title by Charles Dickens, originally published between 1855 and 1857....
).
Warner told ABCNews.com that he tried to make the film "fun and comprehensible" because "a bunch of white guys sitting around in suits talking about money isn't very interesting." The fictional character of Zach (played by Michael Landes
Michael Landes
Michael Christopher Landes is an American actor. He is known for his roles of Jimmy Olsen in the first season of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Detective Nicholas O'Malley in Special Unit 2, Officer Thomas Burke in Final Destination 2, and David Conlon in The Wedding Bells.-Lois...
) was introduced as Fuld's aide, and Landes says that the voiceover he gives "brings an element of humor".
Osborne said that the production was about much more than just finance:
It was a disaster movie, it was Apollo 13 with the titans of Wall Street racing the clock to save the stricken bank; it was a Greek tragedy with Lehman's chief executive brought down by his own tragic flaw; it was Twelve Angry Men with solutions sought in smoke-filled rooms.
Due to the low budget, locations in London were sought instead of those in New York. Locations included Addington Palace
Addington Palace
Addington Palace is an 18th century mansion in Addington near Croydon, South London, England.-History:The original manor house called 'Addington Place' was built about the 16th century....
near Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
which acted as the Federal Reserve, and a disused office in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
which served as Fuld's New York office. Coincidentally, the office had previously been used by Lehman Brothers and desks originally used by the company were used to dress the set.
Reception
Overnight figures indicated that the production gained 1 million viewers, a 5% audience share, behind England'sEngland national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
qualifier on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
, Motorway Cops on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
and Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA
Kitchen Nightmares
Kitchen Nightmares is an American reality television series broadcast on the Fox network, in which Chef Gordon Ramsay spends a week with a failing restaurant in an attempt to revive the business. It is based on the British show Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. The show is produced by ITV Studios...
on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
.
Robert Epstein
Robert Epstein
Robert Epstein Ph.D. is an American psychologist, researcher, writer, and media professional whose primary contributions have been in the areas of creativity, artificial intelligence, peace, adolescence, and interpersonal relationships...
of The Independent on Sunday said it was "all very fast-moving" and that "ultimately, it was hard not to be bored by what was one of the most important – and dramatic – events of the past year. The end of Lehman – and the programme – couldn't come soon enough." The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
said that "some vivid performances transcended the baffling material" and John Preston of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
said:
If I hadn’t read beforehand about how Last Days had been written and shot in a tremendous hurry, I think I might have guessed. The tone wobbled awkwardly at times, as did the focus. However, its faults were always faults of ambition, not timidity. Craig Warner's script consistently aimed high, with his boardroom exchanges being especially good: the chippy competitiveness and testosterone surges slowly subsiding into stunned disbelief.
Rachel Cooke in the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
also said that Warner "tried his best" but that it was "dull and confusing in spite of a cast that included the superb James Cromwell". She also said that documentary The Love of Money about the Lehman Brothers collapse "wiped the floor" with The Last Days of Lehman Brothers, but Adam Sweeting said, comparing the drama and the documentary, that the latter "gives you a lot more numbers and facts, but rather less human insight."