Arbitrage (2012)

 Written/Directed by Nicholas Jarecki

Starring Richard Gere, Tim Roth, Susan Sarandon and Brit Marling

Runtime 100min. - Rated R

3.5 Stars (out of 4)

"Arbitrage" is now in theaters and on VOD including Amazon Instant and Vudu.

Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. The love of money is the root of all evil. Robert Miller (Gere) is a man who knows and loves money more than any person should. He calls himself an oracle and tells the media his powers allowed him to predict the 2008 financial crisis and prepare accordingly. Miller runs his hugely successful business in conjunction with his son and daughter making him a true white-collar family man. Richard Gere plays this character with an armored confidence and unshakeable faith in his own superiority.


The first crack in Miller's facade comes in the form of a shapely young artist named Julie. He pretends to work late and be remorseful for the missed time with his wife, who seems improbably gullible. For a mistress, Julie is extremely jealous of Miller's time. Like all good movie mistresses she operates under the belief that her lover will soon leave his wife in favor of her company. Conversely, Miller seems to be more interested in having some secret fun with no strings attached. She gets mad at him for showing up late to her art exhibit so he anonymously buys her work. It puts her in a good enough mood to reconcile. Still, she represents a threat to his unblemished reputation.

When Miller goes to meet a fellow investor another secret is revealed. He's got 99 problems but being rich ain't one. You like what I did there? Anyways. I'm not educated in the ways of finance, but apparently Miler has been falsifying income statements so that it appears his earnings are much greater than what they are actually. This is no big deal if he could just sell his company. Selling his company is no big deal if he could just pass an audit. Passing an audit is no big deal if he could just borrow some money. So he does. This fellow investor has loaned him $412 million on the promise it will be returned with interest once his company is sold. This all needs to happen quickly because his chief investment manager, who also happens to be his daughter, is starting to notice some inconsistencies in the company's paperwork.

One night while Miller is driving his mistress down some empty road, he nods off for a bit. He manages to veer into a wall and flip the vehicle over multiple times. Luckily, he escapes with some heavy abdominal bruising and a cut on his head. Poor Julie wasn't as lucky though. Apparently a piece of broken glass severed the major blood vessels in her neck and she's dead before Miller even wakes up. Like any rational person, Miller grabs his cell phone and dials 911. Before the talk button is pressed he has an epiphany. The investigations, the family shame, all of those years of perfecting his image; there was too much at stake. Instead of calling 911, Miller contacts an old friend to drive him back home where he'll burn his clothes and pretend like nothing ever happened. This decision is the basis for all the film's suspense, and it's effective.

Mrs. Miller may know more than she lets on.

Richard Gere once again makes me question why I have such a negative impression of him. I lose interest in a film when I see his name attached. Then I watch it and am nearly always impressed. Truthfully, I watched "Arbitrage" because I saw Brit Marling listed as a co-star. She was the star of "Another Earth", which I think was a top 5 film in 2011. She plays Miller's daughter but the character is mostly unexplored. The same could be said for Susan Sarandon who plays Mrs. Miller. Both do admirable jobs but the film centers around one character with little room for the others. Tim Roth makes an appearance playing a cop who is suspicious of Miller and isn't afraid to act on those suspicions despite physical evidence. Roth does make more of an impression than Marling and Sarandon but is still underutilized. He does offer an American accent which I wasn't expecting.

It's rare to see a thriller where not one murder occurs. Director and writer Nicholas Jarecki instead relies on clever storytelling and believable situations to capture the viewer. Robert Miller is a not a likeable character, but we're constantly reminded of the innocents that would affected by his unraveling. It leaves the viewer pulling for him on one level while also hoping he crashes and burns. Miller's a clever man though, and won't go down without a fight. This is an enjoyable and easily watchable movie that keeps your eyes glued to the screen and your blood pressure slightly raised. With a simultaneous theatrical and V.O.D release there's no reason to miss this one.