May 25, 2013
  • Movie Review: 'Arbitrage' -- 3.5 stars

    Susan Sarandon and Richard Gere in quot;Arbitrage.quot; (Myles

    Photo credit: Susan Sarandon and Richard Gere in "Arbitrage." (Myles Aronowitz)

    Arbitrage
    3.5  stars
    Written and directed by Nicholas Jarecki
    Starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Brit Marling
    Rated R

    There's not a better reminder that we've hit September, the start of the prestigious season for movies, than the release of a film like "Arbitrage." Here's an old-fashioned thriller and morality play that's centered on compelling characters and subtle storytelling.

    Richard Gere, giving his best performance in years, stars as hedge fund giant Robert Miller. From writer-director Nicholas Jarecki, the film recounts Miller's attempts to deal with a burgeoning dual crisis: a potential threat to the crucial sale of his company, and a problem involving his mistress Julie (Laetitia Casta).

    Set in a sleek, high-end Manhattan, and shot with an eye for the emptiness of the surroundings, the movie offers a classic portrayal of a Master of the Universe facing his doom.

    Gere's Miller is a cheat and a fraud, betraying his wife (Susan Sarandon), daughter (Brit Marling) and clients. He's earned whatever misfortune is coming. But it's a testament to the quality of the star's work, and the movie's clearheaded portrait of human nature, that we understand his choices and sympathize with him anyway.

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