Arbitrage (2012)

A troubled hedge fund magnate desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help.

Director:

Nicholas Jarecki

Writer:

Nicholas Jarecki

Stars:

Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Brit Marling

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Gere	...	Robert Miller
Susan Sarandon	...	Ellen Miller
Tim Roth	...	Det. Michael Bryer
Brit Marling	...	Brooke Miller
Laetitia Casta	...	Julie Côte
Nate Parker	...	Jimmy Grant
Stuart Margolin	...	Syd Felder
Chris Eigeman	...	Gavin Briar
Graydon Carter	...	James Mayfield
Bruce Altman	...	Chris Vogler
Larry Pine	...	Jeffrey Greenberg
Curtiss Cook	...	Det. Mills
Reg E. Cathey	...	Earl Monroe
Felix Solis	...	A.D.A. Deferlito
Tibor Feldman	...	Judge Rittenband

Storyline

Robert Miller is a successful financial businessman with a loving wife and a smart daughter ready to take over the family business. Professional secrets involving illegal fraudulent activities start coming out at the same time that Robert's personal secrets take a turn for the worse and threaten to derail everything he has achieved.

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Plot Keywords:

dead woman with eyes open | dead woman | accidental death | death of mistress | financier | 

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Taglines:

Power is the best alibi.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, brief violent images and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA Poland

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mentiras mortales

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$2,002,165 (USA) (14 September 2012)

Gross:

$7,918,283 (USA) (11 January 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate, Green Room Films, Treehouse Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nate Parker won Best Supporting Actor from the 2012 African-American Film Critics' Association awards.

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Goofs

When Julie is talking with Robert in her room, her belt is first buckled right to left, then a few seconds later it is buckled left to right.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Maria Bartiromo: But you took a huge bet on the housing crisis in the middle of the biggest boom in housing anybody has ever seen. Why?
Robert Miller: I'm a child of the '50s. My father welded steel for the Navy, and my mother worked at the V.A. They lived through the Depression, Pearl Harbor, and the bomb. They didn't think that bad things might happen. They knew that bad things would happen.
Maria Bartiromo: Is that what's happening now?
Robert Miller: When I was a kid, my favorite teacher was Mr. James. Mr. James said world events all ...

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Arbitrage (2012)

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Soundtracks

My Foolish Heart
Performed by Robi Botos (piano), Morgan Childs (drums), Morgan Downes (bass)
Produced by Scott Morin and Mixed and Engineered by John "Beetle" Bailey
Written by Ned Washington & Victor Young
Published by Warner/Chappell Music Inc., © 1949, renewed, Patti Washington Music (ASCAP). Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Catharine Hinen Music (ASCAP), Patti Washington Music (ASCAP) and Anne Rachel Music Corp. (ASCAP)
Catharine Hinen Music is administered in the USA and Canada by Joma Music Group, Inc.

User Reviews

Of the Rarest Type of Thriller

Arbitrage is one of the rarest thrillers around today – a morality tale that propels its gripping story through poor character choices and the ensuing aftermath rather than left-field twists and pointless action. The complexity of the characters on display in director Nicolas Jarecki's feature debut (and the fine actors who bring them to life) are fascinating to behold and deliciously infuriating in the way that the script forces you to rationalize on their behalf, even when they perpetrate some of the worst crimes imaginable.

The plot of Arbitrage is at its core very basic, but from that seemingly simplistic foundation springs forth a disastrous series of errors of near Shakespearian proportion, ultimately avoidable as they all turn out to be. We first meet with hedge fund manager Robert Miller as he hounds his subordinate to track down the CEO of a rival corporation for a final authorizing signature that will conclude the sale of his firm. Unbeknownst to everyone but him and his accountant, Miller has committed fraud and cooked the books to hide a disastrous investment in a Russian copper operation. Through this sale he can more than cover his losses and retire a multi-millionaire, but after another mistake (this time on a far more personal level) his transgressions at work pale in comparison.

It is through Gere's remarkable performance that we come to sympathize with a man who is not only a liar and a fraud that uses those he loves and dispose of those he needs without a second thought, but who also descends into something far worse: a murderer (at least in the eyes of the law). However, we can see deep down he loves his family, will right all financial wrongs with the sale of his business without anyone being hurt and mostly had non-malicious intentions when fleeing the scene of his crime. We become so caught up in this character's predicament and the world in which he thrives is so equally callous and ugly he comes off as part saint despite being everything an average person despises – he is the one percent and essentially rides above the law.

Having given up his mantle of A-list leading man some time ago, Gere, instead of rushing headfirst into subpar roles that would keep him somewhat in the spotlight, has become a superb actor in his own right choosing interesting projects from The Hoax to The Hunting Party. His performance in Arbitrage is perhaps his best work ever, exuding charisma, spewing malice and emanating explosive energy at the perfect junctures. Jarecki's script and Gere's work is the perfect marriage of actor and material.

The supporting cast is equally superb. Susan Sarandon does a great deal with limited screen time as Robert's wife, as does Brit Marling as his daughter and unofficial partner at the firm. Tim Roth does his evil thing without missing a beat as a determined and justice-blurring cop (though his accent slips a few times) and relative unknown Nate Parker as a past connection of Robert's who plays an pivotal (and emotionally potent) role in the deception does scene-stealing work.

Conjointly as is the case with ludicrous revelations and senseless violence, in most thrillers a last-act imposition occurs, stripping any good will that may have been awarded and leaving nothing but a sour taste. Arbitrage has a perfect – perfect – ending and is immediately preceded with two fascinating examinations of character in both Miller's wife and the buyer of his firm. The overarching theme amongst these catharses is that money rules all, but the execution and timing of both comes off as nothing close to hollow.

It is easy to fathom certain viewers being bored or put off by the deliberate pacing and stylistic choices Arbitrage makes, but that is no fault of this tense and involving film but rather of the spoiled, ADD generation that can't make it through 100 minutes of cinema without multiple shootouts, riveting as it all is. As the antidote to bland Hollywood white-knuckle escapism, Arbitrage is the sublime archetype, substantive and lasting and proving that smarts and dedicated performers can drive a compelling narrative.