High Speed Money - Die Nick Leeson Story

I knew almost nothing about the Barings Bank collapse and absolutely nothing about futures trading before seeing this movie. Still, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Yes, it is told from Nick Leeson's point of view, so it should probably be taken with a huge grain of salt, but it was still quite enjoyable and interesting. One of Ewan McGregor's strengths as an actor is his ability to make the audience root for his somewhat shady characters. He was wonderful in this movie. Of course, I still don't know a thing about futures trading.

Young English investment broker, Nick Leeson, distinguishes himself in his bank's Jakarta office and his reward is an assignment in Singapore, where he unwisely manages both the trading floor and the office operations. His first year is a big success with huge profits, despite some some questionable practices to retain an important client. However, he also establishes an 88888 account, which makes his employer, Baring Bank, into a customer, and he crosses the line again with forged documents to verify a large non-existent transaction. Based on a true story, "Rogue Trader" may confuse those whose vocabulary does not include puts and calls, options and futures, commodities and derivatives. Written and directed by James Deardon from Leeson's autobiography, the film uses extensive voice-over to share Leeson's thoughts and feelings as his illegal activities spiral out of control. Even Leeson seems stupefied and astounded at the magnitude of the damage he has wrought.

Ewan McGregor does well as Leeson, and, for those McGregor fans who want all the Ewan they can get, Deardon offers extended shots of the actor in shorts, bathing suits, completely nude, and bare-assed. Anna Fiel plays Leeson's wife, Lisa; she is passable in an undemanding role and exposes less flesh to the camera than her co-star. Drinking binges, euphoric highs, and emotional lows provide McGregor with a showcase for his talent; if only the film were worthy of him. "Rogue Trader" is not a bad film, but confusing at times, and narration is a lazy device. Filmed in Singapore where the story took place, the movie is a cut above TV fare, but only a small cut. Without McGregor the film would be less worthy of watching; with him, "Rogue Trader" is a passable take on a famous crime.

I found Rogue Trader to be a highly entertaining point of view regarding the Barings bank disaster of the mid 90's, from Nick Leeson himself. I once said, "I'm not crazy to see movies that I know the ending". However, I had to start eating my words after TITANIC. Now, I can add this to the list. Barings was the financial equivalent of the "unsinkable ship" and just like TITANIC, I was on the edge of my seat when the unthinkable was finally realized. A must see, minus heroes.

I very much enjoyed this film for two main reasons. Firstly, it closely resembles the book written by Nick Leeson, and secondly it does take slow steps to try and guide the viewer through the complex world of options & futures.

The film did leave a realistic impression of what the high-life is for some of these traders especially those from England to which Singapore must have felt like another world. The soundtrack, although quite varying at times, also helps create the buzz of Singapore & Asia in the early 90's.

There have been a lot of vocal critics of the film with comments such as boring and lack of dramatic material, but I often prefer films that stay strictly to the subject material and don't get too carried away for dramatic effect.

The performance which I actually thought was best was that of Lee Ross who played Nick's friend Danny. Although quite different from the character in the book (Danny actually doesn't drink and is Greek not English), Lee's performance was well-rounded and very enjoyable as the loyal and dependable friend of Nick. That scene in the bar during the famous "mooning" incident was hilarious.

If you look closely during the film you will actually see the real Danny Argyropoulos & "Ches" Lemming of which the latter actually worked alongside Nick on the Simex trading floor.

Ewan McGregor was great as usual and I often find it strange to see the real Nick Leeson in a photo, as I'd became so accustomed to seeing Ewan as Nick. The very attractive Anna Friel didn't have much material to work with, but did manage to pull off the role of Lisa Sims.

Although I've read much criticism of Nick Leeson, I still have seen or heard nothing to make me doubt the overall story as told by Nick. He could have put a very big boot into Barings when writing his book and would have been perfectly justified in doing so, but his main criticism was of their management practices and not whether he was in fact a "Fall Guy" for Barings.

When reading the criticism of Nick, I've tried to put myself in his position and try to imagine how things were for him. Imagine you've been offered a fantastic job in the vibrant early 1990's market of Singapore, you've just been married, and your earning a fantastic salary. Surround yourself with many others like yourself, and you can imagine how things can get carried away with young guys in their mid-20's who must have thought of themselves as invincible.

In the end I did end up feeling quite sorry for Nick. I'm sure if I'd lost money from investments in Barings, my sympathy wouldn't be as strong! But going from the high life in Singapore to being alone for 4 years in a jail cell is quite a shock to anyone and especially with the added pressure of developing cancer and ultimately the breakdown of your marriage. Having to part with your wife in that German police station must have been very hard.

Lisa sums up the subject material late in the film when she said to Nick; "You were gambling, with other people's money", and if that is the case, then Nick is guilty as sin. But, according to the story, it all started from trying to fix the errors of others and so on. He did get himself back to profit at one point, but with most gamblers, especially after winning back lost money, it's hard to resist that one last punt.

Chin up Nick!

4 out of 5 stars

When I saw the ratings and the comments listed for this movie, I wasn't sure that this was the movie I saw last night! If you're looking for a history lesson on the fall of Synex, read a book. If you're looking for an edge of your seat thriller, with no violence at all, and hilarious breaks in the tension, this is your flic. First, Ewan McGregor is becoming one of my top actors. His portrayal of a cool-as-a-cucumber trader, even under incredible stress is delightful. You can't help but be nervous as Nick Leeson dodges bosses, controllers, and his wife. The level of the stress is clearly portrayed, and his fantasy scenes are great. The other actors are shallow, but hilarious. Enjoy this flic. I did.