Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

Alex Gibney’s investigative documentary chronicles the meteoric rise and catastrophic collapse of Enron, once lauded as a model of American corporate innovation. Combining interviews with former employees, reporters, and analysts with damning archival footage, the film exposes how aggressive trading, creative accounting, and a culture of ruthless risk-taking turned a high-flying energy company into a house of cards. Central figures such as Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling, and CFO Andy Fastow emerge as architects of a sprawling fraud that deceived investors and regulators alike.

The film also captures the human cost of corporate malfeasance, following employees who lost their pensions and investors who were left bankrupt when Enron imploded in 2001. With clear, incisive storytelling, the documentary lays bare the regulatory failures and moral compromises that enabled the scandal, offering a sobering portrait of greed, hubris, and the consequences of unchecked power in the corporate world.