Nothing Is Beyond Money For You Robert, We Both Know That: Arbitrage (2012)

It is quite possible that if it were not for the existence of the wonderfully engaging and brilliantly disconcerting The Grey, that Arbitrage would stand to be the most underrated film of 2012.  In fact, it is no surprise that both films deal with similar philosophical issues, while simultaneously deconstructing the myth of unbridled masculine privilege.  One uses wolves and the cold, while the other uses financial stress and guilt to drive its point across, however, Arbitrage, unlike The Grey, commits to making sure its viewers understand the power and privilege that come with being rich, white and male, so much so that the film manages to almost cause a person to relate to a person who is completely engaged in terrible behavior.  It is a film that manages, to show both the glossy glamour of having such a sway in the daily lives of those below an individual, as to be able to mold and alter the world and those in it to bend at one's illogical and greedy will.  Director, and writer for the film, Nicholas Jarecki has managed to tap into everything that cinema has attempted to reject, while still managing to completely draw attention to its problems.  If the film were not so focused on the "idea" powerful character, I would be inclined to compare it to a Soderbergh film, especially, considering that it has the sort of dreary detachment from the characters, while also possessing an uncanny interest in their most arbitrary engagements.  Narratively speaking it is of the same vein as The Ides of March, a film from a year earlier, or, perhaps Michael Clayton, where, in both instances, George Clooney emerges as a man whose privilege allows him to do pretty much anything he needs in order to assure his safety and continued reign of power.  Arbitrage is much the same sort of film, however, it seems like Jarecki wants to remind viewers that in the case of this film, the privilege can only allow the main character so much access and his moments of having the upper hand will eventually falter, leaving him with nothing but his sense of momentary escape.  The pawns the formulate the other films of this nature are certainly present, however, by the films closing its is they who have come to realize their power in helping the king, if you will, win the game and their demands for providing such aid are more than reflective of knowledge about how much the king can truly provide.

Arbitrage follows the experiences of the incredibly successful financial broker and investment advisor Robert Miller (Richard Gere), as he is lining up to sell his brokerage firm to a buyer for a high profit.  However, slight problems emerge for Roger as he has managed to lose a considerable portion of his company's money to a ill-advised hedge investment in a Russian copper mine.  Fortunately, Robert has tons of friends in high places, therefore, allowing him to navigate through tax audits and various fraud inquiries with ease and lack of concern.  In fact, Roger is so aware of his safety that he openly lies to his daughter Brooke (Brit Marling) when she inquires as to the blatant financial discrepancies in their accounting records.  However, as he has just reached his sixtieth birthday and knows he has a successful retirement he engages in a party with his wife Ellen (Susan Sarandon) and acts completely disconnected from the illegal fraud he is engaged with for his soon to be sold business.  The story, however, also involves another degree of Robert's deception, particularly, when he steps out of his own birthday to engage in another evening with a woman named Julie (Laetita Casta) for whom it is suggested he has had a long standing affair.  It is not until Robert's buyer begins to get cold feet that he begins to worry, even going so far as to blow off an art opening for Julie to attempt to close the deal.  This decision leads to Julie becoming infuriated with him and ignoring him when he does arrive at her exhibit.  Nonetheless, Robert tracks her down later in the evening and apologizes, eventually getting Julie to agree to travel on the road for a few hours.  It is during this drive that Richard falls asleep at the wheel leading to a intense crash and the immediate death of Julie.  Frantic not for Julie's safety, but for the effects such an incident would have on his reputation, and, subsequently, his ability to close the sale, Robert takes advantage of the son of his former chauffeur Jimmy (Nate Parker) reminding the young man that it was he who helped pay for his father's expensive medical bills.  Robert attempts to completely cover up all possibilities of his involvement in the accident, he is met with opposition by Detective Bryer (Tim Roth) whose determination to prove that no man is above the law lead him to maniacally attack every course of option, even attempting to frame Jimmy with the hopes of causing him to snitch on Robert.  However, the film winds down, much as a chess game would, with defensive strategy and stalling, however, in the end the one with more in possession and a willingness to exploit others to his advantage always wins, and Arbitrage reminds viewers that this is no different, although the closing scenes certainly suggest that guilt becomes an intense burden.

Arbitrage is a film that brings to light the age old adage about power corrupting and absolute power corrupting absolutely.  I would love to say that Robert, as a character, comes to realize that he is a greedy and self-serving individual who understands that his terrible actions will eventually catch up with him, however, the film shows that an individual who absolutely ignores any sort of moral high road and throws his money in the right places can certainly get away with anything, including reckless endangerment to the point of involuntary manslaughter.  While the trailer for this movie uses the crash scene unapologetically, it really seems to be the driving force in this movie, prior to his accident, Robert was already walking on a very tight rope and when it breaks he is forced to put everything in front of him to soften the fall.  I mentioned the chess metaphor, because it works nicely to consider the way that "otherness" is a point of exploitation and oppression within this film.  Robert is able to put a person like Jimmy below him, because he clearly believes him to be of a lesser value than him in regards to human life.  Robert is a person of value who is self-assured to the point of hubris (going so far as to act unaware about what exactly as to what an "Applebee's is) whereas, Robert's blackness is often called to attention.  The scene where Robert's girlfriend, a woman of color, supports him, certainly plays into the degrees of intersectionality, which could be read as problematic, but considering the message of the film, it is clearly served up for ironic purposes.  Similarly, Robert seems to have no hesitations throwing his daughter, a woman, thus othered, under the bus in order to assure that he gets what he desires.  The magical moment comes when Ellen and Brooke realize that their two others can unite to attack the "self," Ellen and Brooke obtained their desired gains out of the process, lessening Robert, even if only to the slightest of degrees.  Furthermore, you could read Jimmy's obtaining of the money from Robert as his own victory, although it is absolutely clear that Jimmy's reward comes not from the economic gain, but from forcing Robert to acknowledge that they are now "even," or in a larger context equals.  Of course, these are all spoken affirmations and do nothing for the very real loss of Julie.  nonetheless, Robert is assumedly lesser privileged as a result, yet the film cleverly reminds us that even in that instance, Robert can still move through some pretty high places.

Key Scene:  The car crash is intense, even if you know it is coming, the degree with which the mood is heightened is filmmaking perfected.

This is a great film, I thoroughly enjoyed it, however, it is still a bit on the pricey side to purchase.  I would strongly urge renting it for the time being.

Oh! You're Gonna Like The Fake Trees: Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012)

Leave it to Jeff Goldblum to show up in back to back films on my blog, all be it in this film he is playing a parodied version of himself called Chef Goldblum, which if this joke is not enough to give it away, the film in question is none other than Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar movie.  Existing in a world fueled by what has to be some lethal combination of weed, Four Loko and Adderall, one cannot take this absurdist comedy at its face value.  This film runs the  on what constitutes laughable content, displaying everything from banal toilet humor to high brow metacomedy, breaking the fourth wall at times to explain the jokes.  This film was clearly off putting to people and imaginably so because there is some admittedly grotesque stuff throughout, almost always relating to bowel movements or desecration of human orifices, yet what I found more surprising were peoples condemnations of the comedic duos decision to create a coherent narrative for their film, something any non-fan of Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job would find ridiculous because their film is definitively lacking in logic.  I, on the other hand, do not find the film to be perfect, nor even close to idea, however, I cannot deny it as being one of the better post-modern comedies I have seen to date, as well as offering a fresh consideration on comedy and the nature of audience accessibility.  Furthermore, I have heard interviews with Tim Heidecker in which he admits to a comedic method that always emphasizes finding the limits of audience thresholds, something which clearly succeeds within this film.  I found myself laughing at the most absurd moments, often at the lingering quality of joke delivery or the repetition of a joke in its fourth or fifth manifestation, Time and Eric seem to adhere to a philosophy that if the joke does not work the second or third time, it will surely work the sixth.  It would be awful under the execution of any other comedic setting, yet knowing the particular methods of the actors in question it all seems so right and proves watchable, with the exception of one or two bawdy jokes.

Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie begins with a film within a film, in which their artistic masterpiece Diamond Jim has just been lambasted by studio executives who are enraged by what they see to be a complete waste of a billion dollars.  The Hollywoodified Tim (Tim Heidecker ) and Eric (Eric Wareheim) are initially dismissive of the producers anger and only realize their lack of money and act solidified by their firing of Jim Joe Kelley (Zach Galifianakis).  Yet, after a night of drunken foolishness and semi-sober enlightenment the two see opportunity in revitalizing the S'Wallow Valley Mall, an idea  witnessed while the duo are relieving themselves in a urinal.  After literally running to the mall in question they meet up with the current owner Damien Weebs (Will Ferrell) who after a double viewing of Top Gun agrees to place the mall in their hands, along with the assistance of the sickly Taquito (John C. Reily).  Their existence at the mall is not initially welcomed, least of all by sword shop owner Allen Bishopman (Will Forte).  Despite trebulations and trepidations, the duo find success bringing the mall back to life, all the while Tim finds an adoptive son, literally stealing a boy from his father, while Eric seduces a female employee of the mall.  All is not without climax between the business partners and the two double cross one another in the name of saving the mall, an act that leads to a fist fight and near immediate act of forgiveness.  Yet, the two cannot forget that they are also tied debts from their previous film, which leads to a shoot/slash out in the parking lot of their mall, one in which the duo is victorious.  The film then ends, revealing that it was yet another film within a film.  The larger work proving successful, at least to their friends who appear magically within the screening.

This has most of the tropes and tricks of the television series, whether it be the jibberish dialogue, the Everything is Terrible style editing tricks or the complete disregard for political correctness, yet, much to my surprise, Time and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie does appear to have a identifiable social commentary.  The setting of the film is no accident, this loss of malls and community sustainability is a very problematic thing occurring within The United States.  Many anti-capitalists lament the presence of malls as money machines, oppressing those within them, which is quite true considering the standpoint of the consumer, yet so many of these places are major employers in communities and their loss means a heavy damage to a local economy.  While mostly used for dramatic effect, the desolate nature of the mall as well as its surrounding land manages to reemphasize the destructive wake of a failed mall upon a community.  Furthermore, while the film, ultimately, mocks possession of wealth, particularly in the duo's owning of a billion dollars worth of diamond, yet incapable of comprehending their use in getting the mobsters off their back.  However, the little vignettes of the distraught employees throughout the film are not accidental depicting people struggling to survive in a retail business that needs purchasing power to thrive, a time so grim and disparate that it drives one man to literally give up his son in the name of job security.  The tough economic times of the past year come shining through in this film and manage to reconsider another section of society overlooked by film spaces, probably because they are so inherently comedic in a desperate kind of way, of course making a perfect target for Tim and Eric style comedy.  Hell even if none of the social statements were intentional, it still serves as a great piece of escapism.

Key Scene:  The initial DOBIS explanation tape pretty much assures that their is no turning back from absurdity of the film and while latently awful manages to be hilariously post-modern.

Rent, Rent, Rent.  It is on Netflix, but wait till the wee hours to watch it, the film is textbook Midnight Madness.