Review of Arbitrage (2012) by Robyn N — 01 May 2013

First-time director Nicholas Jarecki directs an outstanding multi-layered thriller giving us a brief but unique perspective of a fraudulent hedge-fund manager. We experience the corporate mentality and greed when he decides to stick it to the rest of us, including his own family. We become witnesses to dirty secrets and how the rich have the resources to get things done their way, able to present a facade to the public as having it all, but behind closed doors losing everything else in the process.

When we first meet New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller (Richard Gere) on the eve of his 60th birthday, he appears the very portrait of success in American business and family life. But hidden behind the walls of his mansion, Miller is in over his head, desperately trying to complete the sale of his trading empire to a major bank before the depths of his fraud are revealed. Robert is carefully concealing his affair from his wife Ellen (Susan Sarandon), and criminal actions from his brilliant daughter and heir-apparent Brooke (Brit Marling). Just as he's about to unload his troubled empire, an unexpected bloody error forces him to juggle family, business, and the police. Suddenly and franticly, Robert is not only trying to complete the sale before his fraud is exposed, he now must cover up an tragic accident to avoid even further criminal charges, far beyond white collar. Suspicious of Miller's story and actions, NYPD Detective Michael Bryer (Tim Roth) will stop at nothing in his pursuits.

Richard Gere is fantastic, portraying this heartless tycoon with true conviction, making it impossible to feel sympathy for this man on any level. His rapt, watchful performance is a thing of toxic beauty. Gere digs so deep into this flawed man that we come to understand Robert's actions without for a minute forgiving them. Wearing the trappings of wealth like a second skin, Gere invites us to see what Robert sees. Intriguing, dynamic multi-faceted storyline with fantastic performances all around. A sobering and penetrating insight into the routine, day-to-day operations of corporate crime, and just where money can take you. Gere gives us a window into the soul of a man who finally realizes that faceted even money will no longer help him lie to himself.