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. Dominic Cooper stars as Dave Matthews, a subcriminal psychopath who sells mortgages in Watford, Hertfordshire, to families denied credit whether they can afford repayment or not. In the series, Dave meets up with an old school mate, Jim Potter (played by Joseph Mawle) who becomes another of Dave's mortgage victims. Despite a confrontation from Jim, Dave feels nothing and continues to sell mortgages to people who cannot afford them at another company. Aidan Gillen stars as Gus, a high flying workaholic who sells corporate mortgages. The series features very strong language and some sexual content.[1]
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 Gus. Even Dave believes his own unfounded salesman spiel, crippling himself with a collossal £800,000 ($1.4million) mortgage he quickly has to dispose of to 'some rich mug'.
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.[2]