Original subtitles

While my baseline was fulfilling

the needs of the desk, I also stood out on my own.

I've formulated over two dozen bespoke macro trading strategies

across a number of instruments,

vanilla cash equities to exotic derivatives,

leveraging at all points our different silos on the floor

and cross-selling products at every opportunity.

I can say confidently that by sales credits,

I'm the standout grad in front of you today.

And I want to prove that this track record of producing

at the highest level isn't a one-time thing.

I have carried the culture of the firm,

led with integrity, and thought like an owner.

It's in my blood. I'm a Pierpoint person.

You ready to bite the head off a bear?

Anyone want to start punting on which grads are staying?

'cause I'm making markets. A hundred quid minimum...

I really appreciate you taking the time to meet with me.

Um, I know I can add value

and I know I'm ready for clients, you know,

- properly covering them. - Yeah.

I mean, there's no guarantees.

You'd still have to be hired permanently by FX tomorrow,

you know, by Hilary.

- I mean, it's his headcount. - Sure. Totally, yeah.

But I'm definitely receptive

to the idea of you moving over.

How has your experience of FX been?

- Um... - I mean, they're kind of a law

unto themselves, right?

Have you felt supported?

I...

I... I think so, yeah.

You know, as... as much as one can be.

...you believe in.

Liquidity is thin.

Trade fears with China,

slower Chinese growth, big warnings in tech,

and the usual Brexit sludge.

Another three percent downside from last night

to move before S&P circuit breakers kick in.

Look, I said I don't know any of their names.

Be descriptive.

Hey, c... can we help you?

Yeah, can I just get two minutes with you, if possible.?

Uh, sure. Yeah, when I'm done.

No, I just...

Um, it... it won't take any time at all.

Harper, when we're done.

Okay, fine.

Fuck.

- Mr. Spearing? - Cheers.

Sixteen pages, 24 minutes to say, "Do nothing."

I cannot believe that she was away...

It's consensual.

He's constantly hedged.

If he's saying, "Sell market," then say so...

And the numbers!

Ugh, burning the fucking numbers...

- Oy, Rish. - Yup?

How do we know if we're safe tomorrow?

Watch your lines. Red means dead.

If they call you before 6:00 p.m.,

you're not coming back on Monday.

And remember, when you're in the room

ignore the camera.

Speak directly to the desk heads.

And don't act the cunt.

It's simple, really.

Gus, I thought it might be a good idea for us to catch up

before your presentation tomorrow?

Perhaps we could grab lunch later?

We could do it in the Executive Dining Room.

Sara, I heard whispers Adler's over from New York.

- Is it bad news? - Oh, um...

news to me.

The last time Adler came over,

half the desk got laid off.

Exec dining room, huh?

Only top brass up there.

Look, your product promised

a world-class shaving experience.

And I... I have razor bumps all over my pubis.

There's nothing in your literature

about using it down there!

Have you, uh... had a chance

to think about what we discussed?

Look, what do you think

people use your fucking products for?

Look, I wanna talk to your fucking manager.

Are we elevating it?

I'm still thinking.

Do you want me to bring it up in the room?

You obviously don't want me to say anything.

You always have a choice.

But are you a team player, Yasmin?

Because I like to hire team players.

Do you know how much of a humiliation this is?

I have fucking three Tinder dates lined up this week.

Unsubscribe me now, and I expect to not see

a pro rata direct debit on my next statement.

So, we've had very good reports about you.

From who?

I wasn't given a mentor.

Every time I was proactive, I was shut down.

The desk politics meant that I was effectively invisible.

And I understand, given where I sat at the start of the year,

who I sat next to, I'm a problem for you.

No, th... this isn't about Hari.

Well, to be honest,

it's the only thing you ever want to talk to me about.

A guy died. The bank was responsible.

Your job was to elide that responsibility.

I can testify to the culture of this place,

the culture that you do your best to hide.

I don't come up here enough.

Look at how high up the two of us are.

Okay. What if I said I didn't see your talent?

What if I saw you as a walking PR disaster?

Shall I be more cynical

or, um, "honest," as you say,

because cynicism's just honesty in code,

and say that you are a hyper intelligent minority

at Pierpoint.

Looking at the institutions you've been at

for most of your life,

you probably take that kind of social mobility for granted.

You shouldn't.

I'm not gonna hide that the optics are good for me,

but if you stay,

there is no limit to where I can take you at this bank.

I don't actually like truffle.

- You don't? - Not really.

Uh, what are you up to tonight?

Heading back. Getting a pint's been mentioned, but I've got an early meeting.

How about tomorrow?

All right, one pint. Okay, maybe two pints.

And a bag of chop. Twisted my arm.

You ready to go?

Got a lot of work to do. I'll see you at home.

Fuck off. We both know

I'm the only one that's allowed to light it.

Thank you for today.

Yeah. It's exciting.

Oh, I hate myself for saying it, but...

it's quite hot.

After tomorrow, you might never see me again.

What would you do?

I'd die.

No, but like, really... what would you do?

Depends who sits in your seat.

You've been fun, Robert.

Why was Yasmin thanking you?

We'll have a chance to chat tomorrow

when the dust has settled.

As someone who knows the process,

can you at least tell me how much weight my speech has

versus the MDs' opinion of me?

It's a consideration of all those things,

plus your performance throughout the year.

Tomorrow, can you vouch for me?

As a friend?

I must be one of the only ones in my class

that printed business this year.

Everyone else is just glorified desk assistants.

Then talk about that business.

You know that I deserve to be here.

Harper...

Doors closing.

Please just try and get some sleep tonight.

But I wouldn't be your friend and your boss,

if I didn't tell you that I'm not convinced

this environment mixes well with whatever it is

you're... going through.

Doors opening.

Doors closing.

So what? Are you...

Are you saying that I'm not cut out for this?

Is that your professional opinion?

No, um...

it just might not be a cultural fit, okay?

Well as my friend and my boss, you put me in front of a client

who sexually assaulted me, so how do you feel about that?

- Excuse me? - Nicole took advantage of me.

That is a very serious allegation, Harper.

Yes, I'm making it seriously.

No, you're not. You're not thinking straight.

'Cause if it was serious, you wouldn't tell me like this.

Here you go.

Cheers.

I can't accept this.

Nonsense.

Gorgeous Georgie just finished it this week.

- It's not appropriate. - It's finished,

and it's paid for.

So...

have you ever thought about getting help?

Yeah, I've been at those meetings.

There's this one guy I remember. Smart lad.

Kept telling me to

"replace the alibis of exceptionality

that masqueraded as self-knowledge."

With what?

The polyester clichés of recovery?

Fuck that.

You're a fraud.

Laughter and lunches and tickets and fun.

That's the whole enterprise.

Because if there's no joy in it for you,

you might as well be dead.

I didn't...

don't want to be small in my life, Rob.

I was large.

Yeah, you should've seen me.

- Do you not wanna stop? - No.

You've really fucking left me in the lurch, you know that?

I don't know what I'm gonna do if they fire me.

I mean...

what have I got to go to, eh?

I knew Kaspar intimately.

He didn't know the first thing about me.

But he needed me.

Twenty-year relationship.

I was who he wanted me to be.

Just tell them what they need to hear to survive the day.

Make yourself big in your life, Rob.

They'll fall in love with you.

Thank you.

I need to go.

Good luck.

While my baseline was fulfilling the needs of the desk,

I also stood out on my own.

I've formulated over two dozen bespoke macro trading strategies

across a number of instruments,

vanilla cash equities to exotic derivatives,

leveraging at all points

our different silos on the floor

and cross-selling products at every opportunity.

I can say confidently that by sales credits,

I'm the standout grad in front of you today.

Right. We've got a little kitty going.

RIF Day Bingo.

Most common bullshit said by grads.

"Team player," "touch base," "add value," et cetera.

Shite, basically.

And any graduate that's brave enough to say

a sentence the traders come up with, gets a Gib.

- That's a grand. - What's the sentence?

Haven't come up with that yet,

but we'll email it around subtly.

Kinda subtly.

Not subtly at all, actually.

Shit.

Uh, good to see you, sir.

How you doing? Yeah. Great to see you again, man.

- How's Trust Fund Terry doing? - Staying strong.

Hey, there. Hey, there.

I don't wanna sound Johnny Paranoid,

but that Adler gives me the fear.

I heard he was having dinner with Boris last night, 5H.

Rishi, Pierpoint.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm just...

Restructuring, I reckon.

Nah, he wouldn't come over for anything less.

Yeah, I've got major post-pint anxiety.

Do you want one?

For today. It's like, um, beta blockers.

They stop adrenaline and stuff.

I'm fine.

How about a fag?

What are you gonna do without me, then?

I could throw myself in the Thames.

You know, I think I'd miss you.

I'm not very good at letting people in, you know?

Yeah, I've noticed.

I don't think I'm Daria's kind of person.

What are you basing that on?

Let's have a drink tonight. After work.

You know, like a proper drink.

You're seriously doing this right now?

Yeah. Why not?

Come to mine, we can just hang out.

Fuck.

I'm on.

Fuck. Okay. Um...

Oy, remember...

you're better than me.

What the fuck?

Can some fucking anorak crank the volume, please?

Uh, Vireo Partners and their new senior PM, Usman Abboud,

aim to achieve long-term capital growth

through active management

by bottom-up stock picking.

What's the most important thing you've learned

about client relationships?

I guess that, um...

there's still romance left in this business...

- Anyone have "romance"? - ...if you know where to look for it, you know?

Um...

No, not sure we do.

What I mean is that, uh...

is that one big night with a client

is worth a thousand research reports.

Well, that sounds like a euphemism.

Don't mind me.

It's, uh... It's always an experience

covering clients on the continent.

Well, it's, uh, more a question of experiences.

He's seconds away from "touch base."

Do you feel you have anything to offer clients

apart from Pierpoint's expense account?

What is your value add, Robert?

What do you actually do?

Whether we like it or not...

this is still very much a belly-to-belly business.

This whole job, in theory, could be completely automated.

Completely electronic.

But I still think that if you want to make money

off a client... for a client,

then it's about listening to a voice.

Totally agree.

So you've secured Vireo as a client?

And can I press you on a "yes" or "no" answer, please?

- No. - No.

They've secured me.

Oh, shit. Um...

Uh, sorry, um...

Sorry, I... I get these whenever I'm really nervous.

Guilty.

- Hey. - Oh, thank you.

Thanks.

- You can go. - Right. Sure.

Sorry.

Never known Adler to fly in for graduate hiring.

Hey, Yasmin,

that's the global head of FICC.

- Fixed Income, Currencies... - I know who he is.

No pressure.

Do you believe that shite that clean eating

makes your street-rat taste nicer?

- Jesus Christ. - 'Cause I'm off for some sushi.

You guys want anything?

Um, a few of the grads have gotten their line managers

to speak to their MDs,

sort of vouch for them.

Um, did you speak to Wyndy about me?

What, on your behalf?

Are you not tired of tiptoeing around each other?

I'm just... I'm second guessing everything

that comes out of my mouth, you know?

And if I'm honest, I'm sick of going home

and thinking more about my relationship with you.

It's just not a cultural fit.

Well, maybe I'll talk about my perspective

on the cultural fit.

You're gonna stand up in front of the entire bank

and say what?

That I did...

what, exactly?

Go on.

Find your words.

Yeah, well, maybe I'll talk to HR.

Right, and how does that play out?

You drag me through a few things,

you get paid, I get a slap on the wrist,

you have a mark next to your name

and have people talk about you for the rest of your career?

"There's that girl. Do you know what she did?"

Oh, come on! You know I'm only fucking about!

You know that that's our relationship.

So what if it's a bit combative?

That's our style. We're a team.

I really appreciate everything you've done for me.

Oh, they're calling you already.

Early bird special.

Pierpoint, Yasmin speaking.

We have someone downstairs for you.

We've spent so little time together

recently because of your job.

And I... I needed a wake-up call.

I... I feel so fucking lucky to be with you.

Okay, well I don't anymore.

Look, I'm... I'm sorry

I don't want it to be rough when we have sex.

Fucking hell.

Like, why does that make me a bad person?

Because... oh God.

You never made me feel like a sexual person.

Seb, I'm a sexual person.

You nearly killed that in me.

Oh my God. You need to leave.

I'm actually pretty busy today.

You know, liking that kind of thing...

it's not very feminist.

I don't give a fuck what's feminist, Seb.

Please leave.

You know, my friends have always wondered why I was with you.

A spoiled little rich girl.

I guess now you're home.

Be kind to yourself, Seb.

My mum, uh, used to get really worried

about how many of these I got as a kid.

What, were you a cokehead back then, too?

I need you to know that...

none of that worked on me.

I see you.

I know what you are.

I don't wanna be a babysitter.

I don't want to be a carer.

I don't want to be a mother, especially to you.

You don't have a future on my desk

because you've never displayed that you have any value.

Doors opening.

To me...

you're worthless.

Doors closing.

Given the chance

to further my career at Pierpoint,

um, I am certain I will find

new and vary way... varied ways

to, um, add value to its outstanding culture.

- Bingo. - Oh, fuck.

And how would you define our culture?

Um...

It's a culture of every man...

every man and woman, um, lifting each other up.

And have you felt supported throughout?

Ye... Absolutely, um...

Yeah, I really feel part of a team.

Thank you, Yasmin.

Thank you.

Alice moved out.

Was it mutual?

I mean, she always kind of knew.

I'm sure we could have kept the whole thing going,

but out in the open, it just...

it made the whole thing untenable.

For both of us.

Look. I'm...

I'm really... sorry.

Can we somehow make this right?

Come to Polton this weekend.

It's my parents' place.

We can, you know, we can do whatever.

We can... chill.

- Are you sure? - Yes.

Yes, of course, I'm sure.

Oh, shit. My parents are there this weekend.

Um, I thought they were back in Hong Kong.

Okay, a major calendar fuck-up.

Um... Look, any other weekend, okay?

I promise.

Sure. A weekend soon.

Send me a calendar invite.

Where did you stay last night?

At home. I got up early.

Did you watch my speech?

Were you with Robert?

What? I was at home.

I've just been getting up early.

- What is your game? - What game?

Like...

your game. What are you doing talking to Daria?

I'm not playing a fucking game, Harper.

I was talking to Daria about switching desks.

You know I've had a shitty time here.

I thought you might be receptive to the idea

of us working together, you know, as friends.

Harper, are you seriously okay?

Any success I might have

doesn't have to come at a cost to you.

We'll all be fine.

Just tell them what they want to hear.

You know, you're, like, the best thing

to come out of this experience for me.

Thanks.

Let me just say, first and foremost,

without equivocation,

after everything we've all been through together...

allow me this indulgence.

"Buy the dip. Short the VIX.

Fuck Bitcoin."

Yes! Yes!

Buy the dip. Short the VIX. Fuck Bitcoin!

Thank you for the opportunity.

"Fuck Bitcoin" is actually the house view.

- Well, that was a waste of time. - Good luck.

Sorry, everyone. We'll get to the bottom of that.

Interesting grad class, Sara.

Harper Stern?

I have formulate...

I have formulated 22 different b... bespoke...

Why don't you tell us about the relationship

you're most proud of?

Whatever's the most revealing.

Take your time.

Harper, are you okay?

Har...

Hey. Are you okay?

I can't breathe.

Hey, hey. Breathe with me.

In through your nose, out through your mouth.

Well, that was, uh, totally unacceptable.

I'm sure this doesn't even warrant a discussion.

There are considerations about what he's been through.

That's yesterday's news cycle.

With all due respect,

you are speaking quite flippantly

for someone who hasn't been on the ground.

And with all due respect, Sara, nobody in New York

is talking about that.

He sat next to someone who died on our watch.

And he's one of our brightest.

Look, I know this sounds cold, but in the interest of time,

we've moved on.

Rightly or wrongly, that's the reality.

So let's take care of it, please.

Sorry, team. My five o'clock is here.

Well, that doesn't sound ominous at all.

I don't think this is the kind of person

we should be championing.

I mean, we've let people sleepwalk into these jobs

too often and too easily.

Yeah. Nothing between his ears.

Adler likes him.

I don't want to come across as patronizing,

you know I never mean to,

but there are certain people,

clients, who would instantly get on with that kind of guy.

Okay, but I... I'd be happy to excuse that kind of attitude

if he was smart...

- but the truth is... - What is remarkable about him?

Adler liked him.

She seems like a bit of a shrinking violet in the room.

But what do we think about her intelligence?

Well, she wasn't great on the technicals.

Hilary?

I think she's very smart.

She was instrumental in introducing us to a new fund.

It fell apart.

- Yes! Tommy... - Nothing to do with her.

It was their needs.

She's, um...

she's a team player.

I'll take this.

I've worried at certain points

about her ability to handle the pressure.

But if we were to define a Pierpoint person

as a producer, hardworking,

someone who truly puts the job ahead of herself...

then she's the easiest hire we'll ever make.

Was that kind of erratic performance

typical of her?

So, I would say the embedding of bold products

going forward and, uh, you know, we need to do that...

It's a very common strategy.

Yes, Gus, lad. You leave a size load, mate.

Huge hardo energy!

Treat yourself to a Pier-pint!

Well done, mate.

Thank you.

It sounds like you've had an extraordinary year.

Good stuff always filters up.

Your desk's a breeding ground for world-class people.

Oh, I'm, uh... I'm sorry this is so low-fi.

So, these, uh, five accounts are Eric's.

They represent 28 million dollars in sales credits.

That's, uh, what, 60 percent of the desk's pie?

They only trade with Eric.

Eric could walk into Goldman's. They become Goldman's.

I need them to be Pierpoint's.

Now, uh, given the NDA, it would be very easy to make

what happened, or didn't happen, go away.

We're in a good position.

Eric assures me that there were some, uh... exaggerations,

a misunderstanding between the two of you.

Some things were said that were, shall we say...

Not true.

We're giving you a chance to retract your accusation.

So if we can clarify, or... or better yet, smooth over

the inconsistencies, I'm sure we can find a way

to make this beneficial to your future.

I'm, um...

I'm quite influential here.

How are Fenmarsh on here?

I... I apologized to Felim

for what I said in front of his wife.

Look, uh, ultimately, this is, uh, an isolated issue

between two people. We work things out,

peer to peer, the institution doesn't suffer.

Work it out. You're both salespeople, for God's sake.

It's not often in life that when you lose something,

you get a chance to bring it back.

Hi, Bill. I'm going to have to borrow Harper.

Well, we're in the middle of something.

Gonna have to insist.

Sara, this is a private meeting.

If I know anything, it's that I have worked

so that men can no longer make unilateral decisions

in airless rooms.

Oy-oy!

You weren't there! You weren't even there!

You know, Lehman was a dry goods store once.

- Really? - Yeah.

Management still used to call it "the family business,"

which was bullshit.

On my desk, we used to call Dick Fuld, the CEO,

"the invisible man." He was never on the floor.

An invisible man

pushing people to sell invisible things.

You know, over a thousand banks have failed

in the last ten years.

About a dozen were created.

We have answered "too big to fail"

by making bigger banks.

- Nothing's changed? - Nothing. But it can.

Some people are trying to change it.

Daria's one of them.

But the only agency we have in a stagnant system

is the single choices that we make,

and the cumulative effect of making the correct ones

more often than not.

I'm not just offering you the job.

Forget my targets.

This is more important than that.

I am giving you an opportunity to change the culture.

I will believe anything you tell me now.

Okay? It's up to you.

But remember, the choice...

is between the invisible man and the visible woman.

Between people like Eric,

or people like Daria.

Can I ask you something?

Yeah.

What do you really know about me?

Like, really... know about me?

Other than when you look at me, you clearly see a victim.

After you, of course.

Doors closing.

Put your phone away.

Thanks for bringing me home.

Did Felim really forgive you?

Mm-hmm.

Why?

Because I was very contrite.

What did you actually say?

To his wife, or in front of his wife. Whatever.

I have...

I have no fucking idea.

I... I have no fucking idea.

Doors opening.

I'm sorry, everyone wants you on the tape right now.

Hey. Wh... what happened?

Harper, are you okay?

You know that we gave you a job in the room.

Look...

I'm so sorry.

Okay? About before, about not taking

what you said seriously.

About Nicole.

Sometimes this place makes you forget yourself.

You know?

But we're gonna do something about it.

Together.

I'm really sorry.

Daria speaking.

Uh, okay. Why?

Yeah. Sure.

Okay, I'll be right back.

And then we are getting a drink, or six, to celebrate.

We made it.

What's going on?

I sat down with Adler.

- Why? - And Eric.

Eric? Sorry. What's going on?

Daria's gone and Eric's coming back.

What did you do?

I told them that Daria had her own agenda

and pressured me into saying something that wasn't true.

But it was true.

No, don't turn away from me.

You're unbelievable.

So it's not about your survival, it's just about you.

It's always just been about you.

Like really, you are fucking unbelievable.

I did what anybody would have done.

No, no.

- I wouldn't have. - Yeah, well, Yasmin,

you would never be in that position, would you?

Don't turn away from me.

You have no idea what it's like for me.

You think that I'm selfish,

but you have no idea what it's like to try to live

- for two fucking people. - Oh, wow.

Okay, I didn't think you'd actually go there.

Don't judge me when you hold your fucking tongue

- whenever it suits you. - What does that mean?

It means that you're weak!

And a fucking hypocrite.

Doesn't look like we'll be working together, does it?

You know, you play broken really well.

But, to be honest, you're just a bit of a cunt, aren't you?

It's all good, man. All good.

All right, bye.

Bye.

Congratulations.

Fuck off, Kenny.

# Johnny's always Running around #

# Trying to find certainty #

# He needs all the world To confirm #

# That he ain't lonely... #

Hi, this is Robert's phone, leave a message.

# Knows he tires easily #

# Johnny thinks the world Would be right #

# If it could buy Truth from him #

# Mary says He changes his mind... #

He's still out.

- Okay, cool. - Oh, you left this here.

# Even when the chance Was slim #

# Running around #

# Running around #

# Running around #

# Running around #