"Arbitrage" is a suspense/drama centering on billionaire Robert Miller (Richard Gere) who runs a successful hedge fund with his daughter Brooke (Brit Marling) among other family. Though Robert is regarded as a financial genius, the truth is that he must complete a deal to sell the company and hide a significant loss due to a bad investment on his part. He has hidden the loss in the company's books but Brooke is suspicious. To further complicate matters Robert has a mistress Julie (Laetitia Cote) who dies in an accident caused by Robert. He is desperate to hide his involvement in this accident from the police (Tim Roth), his wife Ellen (Susan Sarandon), and from the company's potential buyer (Graydon Carter). The son of his former driver, Jimmy (Nate Parker), becomes unknowingly involved and takes the heat as the investigation begins to center on Robert.
I was pleasantly surprised with this film. It's a nice little suspense film that is also a character study. The focus is squarely on Gere's Robert Miller, who has very interesting personal ethics and is a conflicted character. Gere shines in this role and I liked his chemistry with some of the supporting players such as Parker and Roth. As an ensemble the cast does really well. I also thought the screenplay was well-done in that the writing doesn't give out toward the end as in other thrillers that just can't keep the pace or suspense. I feel like this film keeps a steady stream of suspense throughout. I think some viewers may not like that Robert Miller is not the most likable guy - he's not the bad guy you fall in love with but he is the bad guy who explains himself and that's what I think makes this film one to rent.
Rent this one and be ready to cheer for Gere but dislike his character - B+
Yes, I liked this one too!
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