Arbitrage

Before going to see this I thought it was a “ripped from the headlines” story about Bernie Meadoff. I was surprised to find out that this movie is a character study of a different fictional Wall Street executive played by Richard Gere. The story is about 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. The script is well written and you are glued to your seat trying to figure out how thing are going to end for Gere.This is a better than average thriller with Gere giving an outstanding performance. Tim Roth and Susan Sarandon are also in the movie and you see again (it’s been a while since they have been in a good movie) why they are great supporting actors.

Verdict:

Gere does a masterful acting job worthy of the elusive Oscar he has been due since 1977’s Looking For Mr. Goodbar. He has tough competition this year with Joaquin Phoenix in The Master, Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln, Bill Murray as FDR in Hyde Park on Hudson, and Denzel Washington in Flight. Is Gere due an Oscar?