I say "unfortunate", because it's the music should be getting the main credit (Oscar) and the movie should get the " best film to support the music" award. To award Arbitrage with a best film Oscar, would be the classic tale of "the tail wagging the dog".
Let me explain why Arbitrage is really a publicity stunt,whose intent was to introduce a new artist to North American audiences.
Firstly,I should give a short synopsis of Arbitrage, for those who have not yet seen it.
Arbitrage stars Richard Gere who plays the calm, cool, and collected, billionaire a stock market magnate Robert Miller. On the surface Miller is the epitome of self-confidence & success. However, on the inside, he's stuck in the middle of a do-or-die financial crisis. This crisis is exacerbated by a personal tribulation involving his young French mistress. Can Miller save his financial empire and legacy, or will he get the kind of publicity that will destroy him and the people who depend on him?
Just like the definition of "arbitrage" (the simultaneous buying and selling of securities, currency, or commodities in different markets or in derivative forms in order to take advantage of differing prices for the same ace) Robert Miller, is both hero & villain in this drama.
What caught my attention was the similarity between this story and the Bernie Madoff scandal in the financial crash of 2008.
On the other hand however, the differences far outweigh the similarities between the two. Madoff is unrepentant and openly cares for no one. Richard Geres' character, onto either hand is basically good man good man, who has become corrupt and starts to take liberties." He get's his business into trouble, but is truly concerned about protecting those who have come to depend on him for so many things.
Nicholas Jarecki, the writer & director of Arbitrage, says that Robert Miller "was emotionally exploiting the people in his life because he knew best and (was) really 'The Man.' But how much of our lives do we really control? I think a lot of what happens to us is luck."
There's that theme of opposites again. Is it control, or luck that determines the outcome?
"One of my proudest moments was a few weeks ago right before we opened, at a screening in the East Hamptons in New York. It's one of the wealthiest places on the planet," Jarecki recalled. "In the theatre there were several hedge fund managers there, several who had inspired the film. The collective personal net worth of the people watching the film was maybe $20 billion."
Jarecki said that after watching the film many of these hedge fund manager spoke to him saying, 'What you've done is sort of captured our personal nightmare. This is what we all worry about.'
This film certainly confirms my own suspicions of those people who ask us to trust them with our hard earned money, so they can "invest" it and make us "grow" rich while we are asleep (at the wheel).
Now to the heart of the matter.
Usually the music backs up the story in the film, but in this cassette film has backed up the music.
Yes the movie was good, but the music really dominates everything. There was bossa nova, electronic, even a tastey track played by Toronto jazz pianist Robi Botos.
As a jazz pianist I'm always attracted to interesting music, and as a songwriter, I'm always ready to learn from unusual artists.
Most of the music featured in Arbitrage really did underscore the story. However, the crowning piece of music, the movies' raison d'être, the song "I See Who You Are", was an entity unto itself.
To me, the whole movie was used to set up the entrance of t "I See Who You Are" .
It stood out like a red flag in front of a bull. It completely arrested your full attention. It was performed by Björk,a singer from Iceland, whose punkish singing style is as unique as is her name.
I've never heard of Björk before. It seems as if the whole movie was aimed at introducing Björk & her song to North American audiences. According to my research, she has a considerable cult following in Europe. She's been around for almost 50 years. I listened to other recordings by Björk on Youtube, and found them equally fresh & innovative.
This song is definitely on the list of paradoxes that run throughout the entire theme of Arbitrage. Hero/villain? Buying/selling? …Filmscore/scorefilm?
What a classy choice of songs! It confirms that Richard Geres' character really is a hero and not the villain that he could have been so easily painted as,if it were not for "control" being influenced by "luck".
But, wait!
Our Ying & Yang theme doesn't end here.
Looking at the lyrics of "I See Who You Are", Björk seduces us with the words… 'Let me push you up against me tightly'.
How can you push, when you really have to pull?
The conflict of opposites that are rife throughout Arbitrage is maintained right through to the very end of the movie.
I do highly recommend that you go & see Arbitrage.
It's absolutely brilliant!
Björk first came to prominence as one of the lead vocalists of the avant pop Icelandic sextet the Sugarcubes, but when she launched a solo career after the group's 1992 demise, she quickly eclipsed her old band's popularity. Instead of following in the Sugarcubes' arty guitar rock pretensions, Björk immersed herself in dance and club culture, working with many of the biggest names in the genre, including Nellee Hooper, Underworld, and Tricky. Debut, her first solo effort (except for an Icelandic-only smash released when she was just 11 years old), not only established her new artistic direction, but it became an international hit, making her one of the '90s most unlikely stars.
