SummaryWhen we first meet New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller on the eve of his 60th birthday, he appears the very portrait of success in American business and family life. But behind the gilded 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...
SummaryWhen we first meet New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller on the eve of his 60th birthday, he appears the very portrait of success in American business and family life. But behind the gilded 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...
Hitchcock called his most familiar subject "The Innocent Man Wrongly Accused." Jarecki pumps up the pressure here by giving us a Guilty Man Accurately Accused, and that's what makes the film so ingeniously involving.
Part thriller, part character study, Arbitrage is Nicholas Jarecki's first feature, and it moves swiftly and confidently, with many details that feel exactly right. [24 Sept. 2012, p.98]
Sometimes there comes a director with so much skill that it's like watching a jet fighter pilot putting his plane through its paces. Add terrific acting from every character, a riveting script, beautiful cinematography, and you have a solid "10".
So shocked at some of the poor reviews here! The movie is excellent. It is a classic thriller. The young actor playing Jimmy is brilliant, the next Denzel Washington!
Richard Gere was at his best. In fact the whole cast were very good. Tim Roth was a pit bull. Love Tim he always delivers!
Gere is being talked about as an Oscar contender - he's never been nominated. January is a long time off yet, but his name is certainly worth putting on the long list.
Arbitrage is actually a fairly straightforward thriller in the John Grisham vein. It doesn't demand that the viewer know the difference between a hedge fund and a hedgehog. Arbitrage also reminds us that thrillers do not have to be action-packed to generate tension.
Part "Law & Order" morality play, part "Wall Street" with a dash of the more recent and topically pertinent "Margin Call," Arbitrage hums along, complicating its narrative without tying itself in knots.
Features an exceedingly dapper Richard Gere in a series of nice suits and handsome close-ups that serve no purpose other than to remind us how exceedingly dapper Richard Gere looks in nice suits and handsome close-ups.
The rest of the movie registers as a loss of: time, money, talent and logic.
I loved this movie. Richard Gere's character has a dream life, he has it all, and it is all collapsing around him. I felt real dramatic tension as this story unfolded and it had surprises along the way. I found the ending to be stunning. And where did Nate Parker come from? That man can act and does an incredibly real performance as the story pivots on his character. The film looks great too, New York has a supporting role.
Want more films from this team!
This is a finance related drama film, with themes covered including accidental death, blackmail and white collar crime. The first thought I had about this film was that its about a family man, a caring person who is clearly also motivated by money and, thus, greed - how can you be both? **** original, a moral tale of our times(!). It did seem like a relatively bland film but then a pivotal plot twist happens and I found myself more interested to see what happened to Robert, what his reaction would be. The saying 'the truth will out' is quite key in relation to this film, I feel. However, what that entails isn't necessarily as obvious as you may think.
Cast wise, Robert Miller is played by Richard Gere. He depicts Robert as quite a vulnerable person shortly after a certain turn of events - he loses his cocky and self assured veneer, certainly in the short term. It is very much a film which makes you wonder quite how you'd react if you were in his shoes - I'm not convinced I can say I found Robert to be an especially appealing person as such but his performance seemed alright. He certainly seems like quite a slippery type of a figure at times, sometimes quite human and other times much more the opposite (which is to say a smooth talker, or ultimately worried about himself getting in to trouble or losing some of his mass wealth(!)). Other cast members include Susan Sarandon as his partner, Ellen and Tim Roth as the cop in charge of a case involving Robert - detective Michael Bryer. He suits the role well, as he both looks and sounds the part of a NYPD detective. I'm not entirely sure I can explain precisely why but I felt he did anyway.
As a character focussed drama, its alright. I suppose its true what people say about one person owning many masks (metaphorically speaking), which is well depicted here. I quite liked Tim Roths character, how he tried to get under Roberts skin (again figuratively speaking, of course!) and I found myself wondering quite how things would play out, which is a good sign. It is, I suppose, a reasonably watchable film but the plot is a bit slow and it won't appeal to everyone, especially if character driven dramas and, more specifically, those about not entirely endearing people, aren't your proverbial 'bag'.
Content wise, the film contains sex references and partial nudity but nothing especially graphic. There are some scenes depicting drug use, with a character shown taking cocaine being one example. There are also some violent scenes, mostly confined to one scene fairly early on in the plot - a bloody wound is shown and Roberts various bruise marks are shown as well. There is also quite a lot of strong language used. Otherwise, there are scenes featuring characters threatening one another but otherwise not a great amount of content especially likely to upset or frighten people. The tone of the film in general is somewhat unsettling, questioning perhaps in terms of the morality of the main character but I wouldn't have thought people would find it especially visually disturbing. It carries a 15 rating in the UK, due to this.
I'm not sure that I'd specifically recommend this film, as I feel there are other films covering similar themes that are a bit less bland and maybe a little more thought provoking. The main character being a less than especially impressive man made me less than overly keen on it, although it was quite a watchable film (perhaps surprisingly so) and one or two of the other characters somewhat made up for that perhaps. Overall, I'd say look around for a better alternative to this film, as im pretty sure there are a good few out there.
Arbitrage is a generic Richard Gere thriller that seems a bit unfocused and scattered, but somewhat comes together in the end. It's predictable, melodramatic, but the acting is pretty good, as many stars are in this one (Gere, Sarandon, Roth). The story veers off course in the middle parts and starts to get away from Gere's character, even though this was a path the movie shouldn't have taken. Overall, the film is average. Only watch it if you like Richard Gere enough.
A second rate entertainment masquerading as an A list movie. Arbitrage is like a routine episode of a low grade tv drama series complete with an ineffectual detective here played by Tim Roth. Richard Gere seems to be forever walking somewhere, and Susan Sarandon is quite frankly wasted aside from the last confrontational scene with Gere which is probably the best scene in the film. The abrupt ending just reinforces just how futile the whole enterprise is.