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Friday, September 14, 2012
MOVIE REVIEW
Arbitrage
An Emperor And His Pricey Baggage Laid Bare
Richard Gere as Robert Miller in "Arbitrage", directed and written by
Nicholas Jarecki.
Myles Aronowitz/Roadside Attractions
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
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Friday, September 14,
2012
Cool, moody and imbued with the
Michael Mann "Collateral"-esque night and sleekly-dressed players, "Arbitrage",
opening in limited release today, features Richard Gere in one of his very best
performances as Robert Miller, a New York City billionaire whose investments
schemes unravel very quickly in the midst of scandal and murder. Nicholas
Jarecki directs and writes this drama, which takes a somewhat sympathetic look
at Mr. Miller, a Bernie Madoff-like figure whose Ponzi scheming -- building
wealth from duped investors on a mountain of invisible cash -- gets too far out
of hand. (Note: To arbitrage is to buy and sell the same securities in
different markets at the same time, taking advantage or differing prices in
various markets.)
Robert, a complicated man, is tied to family, and money is thicker than blood in
the Miller household, where business isn't interceded by pleasure, except when
it is. Robert sees himself as a man earnestly doing the right thing;
"taking care of" people, even if he does so through manipulative means.
His daughter Brooke (Brit Marling of
"Another
Earth") takes care of the books and keeps things honest. His
wife (Susan Sarandon,
"Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps") wants Robert
to relax and take a vacation where they can freely break the rules together.
He resists. Robert seeks greener pastures.
"Arbitrage" is an intimate, carefully calibrated thriller about the decline of a
man whose fortune and trustworthiness is based on a foundation of paper.
It's also about people who believe that the ends are justified by the crooked
means. "Arbitrage" doesn't make judgments but plays as a silent elegy to
the types of people committed to loyalty even if they have to sacrifice morality
or justice in the process. They are sincere in their intentions but are
not bold enough to have the integrity needed to survive. Systems of
security are instruments of cynical machinations and betrayal.
Robert is persuasive, dashing, handsome, nattily-attired and well-respected.
When he speaks the financial world listens. His appeal to investors is
immense, which, among other things, accounts for his personal wealth.
Robert is like an older version of the character Mr. Gere played 22 years ago in
"Pretty Woman", except he's bartering people's trust, not their love. The
same goes for a Peter Falk Columbo-styled New York City police detective (Tim
Roth, sly comic slouching here) looking to solve a murder threatening to
reverberate through Robert's family and the investment community.
The crimes in "Arbitrage", like many if not all crimes, are crimes of
opportunity, and the participants are often boxed in from the inside. Each
crime has a whistleblower attached to it who calls foul in no uncertain terms.
Lives get wrecked because of excess, power and the ability to do something and
think that being Mr. Jarecki, whose brothers Andrew and Eugene are fine
filmmakers in their own right, builds his drama in large-scale conversational
pieces, which work most effectively when characters and their backgrounds are
poured into the fabric of a scene. Mr. Jarecki has a firm understanding
that the stakes for his players are high, and the actors execute their
characters in their high-stress environments very well.
Often sobering, Mr. Jarecki's well-written film works best when it concentrates
on character exploration rather than melodrama or predictable dramatic devices.
Some characters' fates you can see coming a mile away, and some of the women of
"Arbitrage" are sketched only so far as the surface they uneasily stand on.
Besides Mr. Gere's gradual, desperate, cruel and calculating Robert there's
outstanding acting from Nate Parker as Jimmy, an important man who is less put
upon than he appears.
Jimmy is a study in contrasts to Robert -- he's more an arbiter or symbol of
moral conscience in "Arbitrage" than a character in his own right -- yet Mr.
Jarecki's screenplay deeply involves the moralizing Jimmy, a Harlemite who
struggles to reject the Robin Hood-ism Robert attempts to bestow. If Tom
Ripley would rather be a real nobody rather than a fake somebody then Jimmy
holds fast to integrity in a way that Robert might envy if he stopped to
contemplate it. Even so, "Arbitrage" clearly illustrates that everybody
has a price. Mr. Parker is excellent here and merits Oscar consideration
for his balanced work as a smart, streetwise, full-blooded figure who has some
urgent choices to make. Also terrific in
"Red Hook
Summer" last month Mr. Parker continues to do great work in all kinds
of films, even poor ones (January's
"Red Tails").
Meanwhile, "Arbitrage" rides to success on the waves of Mr. Parker and Mr. Gere,
whose Robert may be a very rich man but is very poor inside, as hollow as the
paper he thrives on. "Arbitrage" is a good film, not a great one, yet it
is entertaining and at times riveting. Watching this morality tale play
out is a pleasure, and it grows more impressive by the minute.
Also with: Laetitia Casta, Chris Eigeman, Stuart Margolin, Tibor Feldman,
Graydon Carter, Bruce Altman, Felix Solis, Curtiss Cook, Larry Pine.
"Arbitrage" is rated R by the Motion
Picture Association Of America for language, brief violent images and drug use.
Some sensuality at play as well amidst money making and fortune-shredding.
The film's running time is one hour and 40 minutes.
COPYRIGHT 2012. POPCORNREEL.COM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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