"Arbitrage," starring Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon, opens today at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. Also continuing for a second week is the stylized drama "Chicken With Plums" from Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi.
"Arbitrage" is rated R and shows through Nov. 8. "Chicken With Plums" is rated PG-13 and shows through Nov. 1.
Writer Nicholas Jarecki makes his feature directorial debut with "Arbitrage," a drama centering on a Wall Street hedge-fund tycoon and family man who scrambles to maintain a picture-perfect façade as his empire slowly begins to topple. Robert Miller (Gere) is about to turn 60. One of the most successful businessmen in New York City, he lives a life of luxury that few will ever experience. But there's a storm coming.
If Robert can finalize the bank purchase of his trading empire before any evidence of his shady business dealings is unearthed, there's a chance he could emerge relatively unscathed. Not even Robert's wife Ellen (Sarandon) or their astute daughter Brooke (Brit Marling) have any idea of the hole their family patriarch has dug. At the crucial moment when his plan falls apart, however, a deadly complication leaves Robert with no choice but to seek the help of shady Jimmy Grant (Nate Parker), a man the wealthy financier never expected to see again. Just when it seems the situation couldn't get any worse, NYPD detective Michael Bryer (Tim Roth) realizes he may have uncovered a key piece of evidence that will ensure Robert pays for his sins.
In "Chicken With Plums," co-directors Satrapi and Paonnaud make the leap from animation to live action. The film is an expressionistic adaptation of Satrapi's graphic novel about a mercurial violinist who embraces death and embarks on a surreal journey through the past and future after his beloved instrument is destroyed.
For more information, including show times and ticket prices, go to http://www.theross.org.