Arbitrage Review

Director Nicholas Jarcki storms onto the scene with Arbitrage, his first major motion picture project.  Arbitrage is the story of Robert Miller (Richard Gere) who is a multi-billion dollar hedge fund manager, a husband to a devoted wife (Susan Sarandon) and father to his daughter and co-worker (Brit Marling).  Miller is about to close a deal for a handsome price, but has doctored the books to cover up a large financial loss, unbeknownst to his wife, his daughter and his employees.  Miller's problems at work are just the beginning.  He is also having an affair.  One night, while driving with his mistress (Laetitia Casta), Miller dozes off at the wheel, flips his car and ends up killing her in the process.  He flees the scene and makes his way home.  Investigating the accident, Detective Bryer (Tim Roth) soon finds the trail leads to Miller.  Meanwhile, his daughter is discovering the discrepancy in the financial records and fears she might be implicated in the cover up.

Arbitrage was not your typical roller-coaster of a movie.  A roller-coaster has ups and downs and twists and turns.  This wasn't even a train wreck because a train can really only derail once and fall off its tracks.  This was one spiraling disaster after another that starts right from the beginning and keeps going down and down getting worse and worse for Robert Miller (Gere).  It was like a plane that crashed into a train that derailed and crashed into a roller coaster that derailed and crashed into a balloon cart sending the balloons into the sky hitting another plane's engine causing it to crash into another train and just kept going on and on.  True, Miller brings all of it on himself, but Gere is so good at playing roles like this that you actually feel for him and want things to work out alright for him.

It really only takes about fifteen minutes before you are made aware that Miller's company is in trouble and a $400 million discrepancy is being covered up to secure the sale of his hedge fund.  You are also made aware that Miller is being unfaithful to his wife (Sarandon).  Though her role is a smaller one, Sarandon plays the part perfectly as the dutiful (though not ignorant) wife, stockpiling her knowledge until it serves her purposes. And Tim Roth, as expected, is delicious as almost a Platoistic Detective doing what it takes to solve this case.  I enjoyed Arbitrage and felt I really wasn't allowed to take a breath until the very end.  I give it 4 stars.  I thought it was worth the money, Gere should get an Oscar nod (maybe not a win, but a nomination) for his role and would recommend this to others, though it might not make my home collection.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.