Film Review: Arbitrage

Ever woken up from one of those anxiety dreams where you imagine you get a bad grade on a test or forget to turn in a paper? Arbitrage is like one hundred minutes of nightmarish unease. Is it a comfortable experience? Doubtful. Is it a powerful experience? Certainly. To quote one moviegoer, “Oh, man. After that, I just want a massage.”

In the film, wealthy banker Robert Miller (Richard Gere) gets in a car accident that threatens to unearth the hidden aspects of his high-profile life. Miller struggles to fulfill all of his self-imposed duties, including covering up an extramarital affair, hiding his company’s bank fraud, closing a merger to sell his company, keeping on good terms with his wife (Susan Sarandon) and mentoring his daughter (Brit Marling), to name a few. In light of the accident, which threatens to reveal his affair, Miller must either confess or spin an ever-growing web of lies. The audience, like Miller, is never sure of the better option in this lose-lose situation.

The film draws much of its power from writer and director Nicholas Jarecki’s tight-knit screenplay. While the film starts in a place of relaxation, as soon as the car crash happens, there’s not a second to breathe. Snappy dialogue and quick scene changes keep the tension high. Every moment, Miller must keep up the illusion that each aspect of his life is the top priority. After devoting his full focus to a business trip, he must feign attention toward his family with gifts bought by his minions. Worries like this pervade the film and soon become the audience’s concern as the camera tracks Miller’s every move in his transition between worlds.

Doubtless, Miller is a despicable character—he’s the type of banker that helped trigger the recent financial meltdown. So why should the audience care about what happens to him? Shouldn’t we want him to get his comeuppance? Gere’s stellar acting keeps us rooting for his character even when we’re about to give up on him. In little moments of privacy, he’ll show remorse, but as soon as he returns to the public sphere, he forces a smile and tries to seal every deal in his favor. Meanwhile, the film has moments when Miller’s wife and daughter show how he has betrayed them. These moments jerk our sympathies away from Miller. In the end, our indecision over whether to identify with Miller adds to the anxiety of his tough choice.

If you’re looking for a way to unwind after a long work week, Arbitrage is not for you. But if you’re seeking a drama with all the tension of a horror film and some tough questions of principle, give the movie a look.