JOIN USArbitrage is a movie that takes you deep into the world of business where vain promises of riches are made to investors who often end up losing everything. This thrilling drama, the first by Nicholas Jarecki, is fast-paced, but too much drama can also be a dangerous thing. It can make you feel weary in the end.
The movie starts off with Robert Miller (Richard Gere), a charming billionaire in New York who seems to have it all — money, family and a successful career — celebrating his 60th birthday. An unexpected face of this gentleman, like his alter-ego, reveals a fraud trying to save his company from going broke, a husband who entertains his mistress while his wife (Susan Sarandon) waits for him back home.
He is trying to sell off his business after incurring a $400-million debt. The firm’s audits reveal fudged numbers which prompt suspicions in his equally shrewd daughter, who is the chief investment officer of his company.
Apart from all the troubles he already has, a car accident gets the detectives and the police on Robert’s heels. He uses Jimmy Grant (Nate Parker), his chauffeur’s loyal son, to help him get away with an alibi.
The movie owes it all to Gere for the unconventional role, which he has played so well. Although there is an excess of importance tagged to his glamourous suits and unnecessary close-ups, Gere is undoubtedly the villainous hero of the movie. He uses each and everyone around him to his advantage, which makes you doubt whether money is indeed power.
But in the end, you realise that he does not learn anything from his experiences. He only gets nastier.
Aptly, when Jimmy Grant asks him, “You think money is gonna fix this,” he replies “What else is there?”