Arbitrage (2012) - A Man Too Rich To Fall

★★★★☆

Having not seen Richard Gere in any film for years, I remember the last time I saw him was in 1996’s crime thriller ‘Primal Fear’, in which he plays a lawyer pathetically fooled by his client. That film has one of the most jaw-dropping twist endings ever. Go check it out if interested. In his latest ‘Arbitrage’, Gere is the one to fool those that trust him. Honestly, I don’t know much about hedge fund, stock exchange or stuff, but this is not a film about that really. It’s all about a man too rich to fall; too successful to go behind bars. And you know there’s no one better than Gere at playing a mature, charismatic character holding dangerous secrets and lies in fact.

‘You’re not my partner. You work for me. Everybody works for me.’ Robert Miller (Gere) shouts at his daughter after she finds out that he cooks the books so as to be able to sell the company and cover the losses. People may dislike his everybody-works-for-me attitude, but I can’t see anything wrong about it. Yes, he’s cheating to keep his money, but I guess he’s also being responsible for his family and all those working for him. Like I said he’s too rich to fall. If he does, like he says, lots of people will get hurt. It’s true that he’s only doing his job. That’s how businessmen do business, isn’t it? If you can’t stand being dishonest, don’t be a businessman. If you want to be one, live with it. Don’t dream of being an honest businessman because you can’t. To me, the only thing he does wrong is that he shouldn’t have cheated on his wife, but you know it’s hard for a successful man like him not to have an affair. Men just can’t help it. I mean those that are weak.

Detective Michael Bryer played by the British Tim Roth is another light of the show. The way he walks is stylish. The way he talks is cocky. The way he goes after Miller is mean and aggressive. He wants to put Miller away so bad despite the fact that what happens there to Miller and his mistress is but an accident. Bryer’s kind of a hero against the very rich. And we’re all in favor of a guy like that because in reality the rich inevitably get to enjoy more justice than the poor. They always have the upper hand in court. Of course you can seek your own justice outside court but you’ll be considered a riot after all. So the ending of the film is rather predictable, but chilling indeed.

Said that money is the root of all evil. I disagree. There’s nothing evil about money. It’s all about how you earn and make use of it. You can use it to wipe your own ass, or you can use it to help the poor live a decent life perhaps.