Arbitrage (2012)

Review of the movie Arbitrage starring Richard Gere

It’s been ages since I’ve last seen Richard Gere in anything (from the top of my head it was 2002’s The Mothman Prophecies, but a fact check at IMDB shows it was 2009’s Brooklyn’s Finest) and since I do think he’s a good actor I was interested in seeing him in a starring role again. He plays Robert Miller, a very succesful businessman who is about to sell his company for hundreds of millions and will be set for life. At first glance his life seems perfect. He can spend time with his wife Ellen (Susan Sarandon) and children (who both work at his company) and lives in luxury. Behind that facade though there are a lot of dark secrets which he has kept from the ones closest to him and as events happen it seems he can no longer keep those a secret very long.

Despite the fact that you know that Gere’s character is a crook, you still hope he will be able to hold on to the things he has and that’s a strange thing to realise, especially in the current economic climate where companies go bankrupt because of people like his character. It shows that a movie can make you root for anyone and Gere manages to make Robert Miller sympathetic. I won’t give away too much away about what happens in the movie, but I was hoping he would be able to stay out of the hands of the police.

Arbitrage is the kind of thriller I enjoy as it constantly has you questioning if Miller can outsmart everyone as they are closing in or if he can think of something which will allow him to escape his issues. I never felt the movie had a dull moment and with solid performances from Gere, Sarandon, Tim Roth and Brit Marling it’s a great movie to rent.

10 thoughts on “Arbitrage (2012)

  1. I liked the film. Wouldn’t give it as high a score as you, but yes it had certain suspenseful elements that tickled my interest. Although, don’t you think the family seemed so close to that of Trump. Similar-ish hairstyle, similar looking daughter and son, etc etc. good review.

  2. This seemed like a generic thriller at first but after seeing all the positive reviews, I’m intrigued to give it a chance. Been a while since I saw Gere in anything.

  3. I liked this one too. It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be from the previews but it was a solid movie that confirmed my suspicion that, yes, with money you are close to untouchable as far as the law goes.

  4. This is one of those films I wish more people had seen. Richard Gere is really quite good in it and the story had me captivated throughout. Great review!

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