What Else is there Other than Money?
Arbitrage, directed by Nicholas Jarecki and starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Brit Marling, and Tim Roth, is a dramatic thriller with many layers of ethical and political conflict, peppered with strong performances across the board.
I've never been a huge fan of Richard Gere - he's generally always Richard Gere, and never have I been won over by a performance of his. With Arbitrage, Gere has delivered a career best performance, one worthy of Oscar consideration. Gere plays billionaire Robert Miller, a hedge fund manager, and like many such individuals, not everything he does is legal. He cooks books, and stands by his unethical decisions by saying they resulted in everybody winning. He believes money is the most important thing in life. Indeed, when presented with a question from somebody who he has dragged into a bad situation - "You think money's going to fix this?" - his response is simply, "what else is there?" His daughter (Brit Marling) works for him, which he makes very clear in what is one of the film's best scenes, and the very scene that may well launch him to the short-list for Awards consideration.
The plot's main conflict arises when Miller, driving in a car with his mistress, has an accident in the middle of the night. She dies, and Miller flees. The car blows up shortly after. Miller is a smart man, and rather than calling for help on his cell phone, he uses a pay phone to call a "friend" (though that term will certainly come into question by many people throughout the film) for help. It isn't long before he has a police detective (Tim Roth) on his trail, and his world begins to spiral out of control. No matter how careful you are, you're never careful enough.
All of this while Miller is trying to sell his company for a lot of money, and something like this would not only land him in prison for 20 years, but destroy the company, and the lives of many other people (including his family). Miller lacks any sort of ethical soul in any kind of conventional way - he believes money can fix everything, because so far in his life, it has. This theory will come to a brutal test, especially between him, his wife (Susan Sarandon), and his daughter.
His wife knows of the affair. Does she care? It doesn't seem like it. At least until the police want to talk to her. She brushes them off at first, but can't do that forever.
The film is clever and unique in the way it presents a man who shouldn't be likable in the least, but manages to have us rooting for him... a little bit, anyway. Yes, the accident was indeed an accident. But Miller's lack of an moral conviction results in a subtlety fiendish character; much like car accidents themselves, you can't help but watch him, but you also can't help but loathe him.
This is one of Gere's most dynamic performances. Notice the way he gets extremely passionate and upset and says things he definitely means, but seconds later wished he hadn't said them. "Sorry" isn't a word he often, if ever, uses. Why should he? A couple million dollar payoff is much easier than apologizing for him. But Miller isn't a monster. He's done many good things for many people. Many people count on him. He's saved lives, like that of the "friend" he calls for help after the accident. But are his actions altruistic? I'd say it would be hard to make a case that they are. He'll help people, especially if he helps himself along the way.
The supporting performances are all great as well. Tim Roth as the snaky, determined detective is fun to watch whenever he's on screen. Brit Marling as a financial officer for her father is splendid in her naïveté and intelligence. Sarandon projects a cold, lifeless performance, but that is only a compliment. But ultimately it is Gere who steals the show and keeps the film moving at an entertaining, but still harshly realistic pace. As Roger Ebert put it: "We tend to identify with the leading character of a film, even if he is a heartless bastard. Few films illustrate this curiosity better than Nicholas Jarecki's "Arbitrage," and few actors might have been better at making it work than Richard Gere. Here is man involved in a multimillion-dollar fraud, who cheats on his wife, tries to cover up the death of his mistress and would throw his own daughter under a bus. Yet we are tense with suspense while watching him try to get away with it." I couldn't agree more.
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