Rogue Trader

We were impressed at the quality of acting in this relatively low budget film. Rather than special effects and technical events, this movie very successfully brings you into Nick Leeson's world. It is certainly not an apology for Mr. Leeson, Ewan McGregor very effectively and subtly captures the drivenness that envelopes Mr. Leeson and, of course, undoes him and the bank. This movie brought us into a world that we knew little of, and helped us understand it from the inside out.

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.

A cunning scoundrel in exotic Singapore single-handedly brings down Barings Bank, established two centuries ago and one of England's foremost financial institutions. Another wildly improbable sting flick? Not at all - the story is based on actual events and the film sticks pretty close to the facts. Nick Leeson, brilliant and ambitious young trader, superstar of the Singapore stock market, incurs staggering losses. Unwilling to jeopardize his prospects for advancement, he tries to cover his tracks by pulling non-existent rabbits out of imaginary hats. The literally gut-wrenching stress of this Sisyphusian endeavor is illustrated by Leeson's frequent bouts of vomiting (while in prison, he underwent surgery to remove a tumor along with part of his colon and large intestine, and chemotherapy after being released). The film's flaw is that it glosses over the bank's role in the disaster. Barings turned a neophyte loose in an foreign arena with total control of the operation and minimal supervision. Putting the same individual in charge of both the front office and back office bypasses the appropriate checks and balances, and is tantamount to having the fox guard the hen-house. The official report of the Bank of England concluded that Barings' failure to segregate Leeson's duties was "reprehensible," and those with "direct executive responsibility for establishing effective controls must bear much of the blame." Yet little mention is made of this in the film. And the mechanizations of the stock market are downright incomprehensible at times. Nevertheless, this is an interesting story and Ewan McGregor turns in another outstanding performance.

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 disagree with the other reviews here. I enjoyed the movie very much and I don't even know a bond from a stock from a box of crackers, nor did the know the story of this man and what transpired. But the movie explains a lot as its going along, and by the end, I was interested to know exactly how much he was going to get away with. Ewan is terrific as always.