Arbitrage - power is the best alibi

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Movie
German title Arbitrage - Power is the best alibi
Arbitrage: The price of power
Original title arbitrage
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2012
length 107 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Nicholas Jarecki
script Nicholas Jarecki
production Laura Bickford
Kevin Turen
Justin Nappi
Robert Salerno
music Cliff Martinez
camera Yorick Le Saux
cut Douglas Crise
occupation

Arbitrage - power is the best alibi (Alternative title: Arbitrage: The price of power ) is an American film drama made in 2012 by Nicholas Jarecki (screenplay and direction) with Richard Gere , Susan Sarandon and Brit Marling in the lead roles. The term " arbitrage " from which it is named is understood as the exploitation of price differences for one and the same good in different markets.

action

Robert Miller is a successful hedge fund manager and multimillionaire. He wants to sell his investment company and is currently in negotiations. However, a sale does not take place for the time being, as the buyer James Mayfield is playing for time. Miller made a mistake in an investment in a copper mine and lost a lot of money in the process. In order to fill the holes and improve his balance sheets for the sale of the company, the manager has borrowed $ 412 million from his business partner Jeffrey Greenberg. However, his partner no longer wants to wait for his money to be paid back, which Miller has repeatedly delayed. During a joint meal with the potential buyers, Miller is put off again and a sale does not take place again. And then his daughter Brooke, who works in his company, tells him that she has stumbled upon some inconsistencies.

The manager has the art dealer Julie Côte as a lover and believes that his wife Ellen has no idea. He promises Julie to come to the vernissage of her first art exhibition, but shows up very late. Julie then gives him the cold shoulder. Because of this, Robert only stays for a short time and then goes home. In the middle of the night he shows up again at Julie's to apologize. He can persuade the young woman to go with him to his house in the country. On the nightly drive there, however, Robert falls into a microsleep and the car that Julie's owned overturns. Robert manages to get out of the car, but Julie does not survive the accident. To keep his relationship with Julie exposed, which would put both his marriage and the proposed sale of his company at risk, Miller calls Jimmy Grant, the son of a longtime employee who is driving him home. When the police find the accident vehicle, they immediately suspect that Julie did not drive the car herself and that the actual driver left the scene of the accident.

Accident investigation police officer Michael Bryer also questions Robert Miller about Julie's death as his company supported Julie financially. Over Miller's phone call from a public telephone, the police find Jimmy Grant, who lives in Harlem and has a criminal past. Detective Bryer suspects that Jimmy picked up Robert from the scene of the accident that night in order to prove his involvement in the accident. Jimmy refuses, however, to make a statement on this point. When Robert sends a renowned lawyer to the young man to support him, this is another indication for Bryer to suspect a connection between Robert and Jimmy.

Miller's daughter Brooke finds out that her father's company books have been tampered with. She confronts her father about it, and he eventually tells her all about the loss of money and manipulation of the books. Brooke, who sees herself as her father's equal business partner, blames him for his lonely, risky decisions. When he makes his point of view clear to her that she is only a co-worker and that in the end he alone has the say, she is very disappointed in her father. Robert's situation is getting more and more difficult as Mayfield continues to play for time to keep the purchase price down. Miller finally meets Mayfield in a restaurant, and a contract is finally signed. The sale is sealed by Miller with a handwritten contract on the restaurant's menu.

Detective Bryer has since been carried away by showing Jimmy a fake photo that allegedly shows Jimmy's car at a toll station. He threatens the young man with a long prison sentence for obstruction of justice. To prevent a lawsuit against Jimmy, Robert plans to turn himself in. However, when the forgery of the photo is exposed, the proposed charges against Jimmy have to be dropped and the investigation against him is closed.

Robert's wife finally reveals to him that she knew about his various affairs and had tolerated them all along . However, he crossed a line when he dragged their daughter Brooke into his dirty business. She demands that he donate all of his assets to a charity fund managed solely by his daughter, and she threatens to testify to the police that Robert was not with her on the night of the accident, but only came home slightly injured in the early hours of the morning be. Robert would then have to answer in court because of his involvement in the accident. After the contract was signed, James Mayfield has learned of the manipulation of the balance sheet in Miller's company, but he is covering it up to save face. Robert, however, has to submit to his wife's request and is celebrated as a generous donor at a charity event.

criticism

“Arbitrage is a thriller that is well worth seeing and that doesn't rely on cheap thrills, but on realism. With his script, Jarecki ensures that there is always something going on and that there are almost no lengths to be recorded. The actors are great, and despite the lack of a real popular figure, you stay tuned until the end. It is definitely important to keep an eye on Jarecki, who is only just 33 years old. "

- OutNow.ch

“Well played and very clever thriller about the influence of money, greed and power. However, the film hardly offers anything new, treats some subject areas too superficially and leaves something to be desired on the level of tension. "

- Filmring.at

With Metacritic , the film achieved a Metascore of 73%. 87% of the film reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes are positive (as of May 2013).

publication

Arbitrage was shown in January 2012 as part of the Sundance Film Festival and was shown in American cinemas on September 14, 2012. In Austria it started in theaters on February 15, 2013, in Germany, however, arbitrage was not shown in theaters.

The film grossed around 32 million US dollars at the box office worldwide.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Certificate of Authorization for Arbitrage - Power is the best alibi . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , March 2013 (PDF; test number: 137 810 V).
  2. ↑ criticism arbitrage at OutNow.ch
  3. ^ Critique of arbitrage at Filmring.at
  4. ^ Arbitrage reviews at Metacritic
  5. ↑ Arbitrage - Power is the best alibi at Rotten Tomatoes (English).
  6. ↑ Box Office Mojo: Arbitrage boxofficemojo.com gross profit , accessed June 10, 2013.