Arbitrage – noun. Finance. The simultaneous purchase and sale of the same securities, commodities, or foreign exchange in different markets to profit from unequal prices.
Nicholas Jarecki (“The Informers”) writes and directs this smart thriller starring Richard Gere in a career noteworthy role. Gere plays a highly successful hedge fund magnate in the middle of selling his trading empire, who makes a mistake that gets out of hand and threatens everything he has to lose – family and freedom. Tim Roth plays the persistent Detective Michael Bryer who begins to visit Robert Miller’s (Gere) office a bit too much. The cast also includes Susan Sarandon and Brit Marling, as Ellen and Brooke – Miller’s wife and daughter, respectively.
The film shows Miller walking a tightrope between getting away with his crime and getting caught, ending his career and ruining his life. It shows how harmful a scandal could be to a man of power and wealth, which is what leads Miller to decide to pretend nothing happened at all. Miller had been having an affair with a woman who ends up dead after a terrible car accident – leaving Miller with a scarlet letter, a constant reminder being a wounded side.
With Miller continuing to try and stay rich without getting caught, the tension is palpable between him, his family, and the law. The only question is if power can be the best alibi like the tagline suggests, or if billionaire Robert Miller will go to jail for the rest of his life, leaving his beloved family with nothing. What ensues is one of the most noteworthy films of the year so far.
“Arbitrage” is now playing in theaters everywhere.
