CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

aixinz I worked as an auditor at Big4 for several years, and my fiancée is a former investment banker and PE investor. We both found this movie to be very true and realistic when describing the stress and intensity that people face when working on Wall Street. We related to him and felt him pain! Not that what he did was right, but the movie did an excellent job presenting the Wall Street stress and reality which most of the Wall Street movies fail to do. What am I talking about? The extremely high expectations: you are never good enough, you can never stop, and there is always more profit to be generated. The way that he was treated: no matter how well you do, your direct boss will give you more pressure because your performance is related to their bonus, although they haven't contributed a thing in the process besides telling you to come in to work on Sunday during a funeral weekend.Anyway, if you are interested in a career on Wall Street or Big 4, please watch this movie, so you will know what you are getting yourself into!

mystarry 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.

sveknu I don't know if Nick Leeson deserved this movie. A man who almost single-handedly made one of Britains big banks bankrupt couldn't be as "innocent" as portrayed in this movie? Or?I didn't know any of the details in the Barings Bank-bankrupcy. I think that helped me in enjoying this movie, because it was quite entertaining. I'm no expert in how trading takes place in the stock market and physically at the stock exchange either. I think that helped too, because I've heard from people who know a lot about it that the way this is portrayed in the movie isn't very realistic. But, as mentioned, I didn't have to worry about that.If you'd like a thriller about financial problems and crimes (a really small genre) I thing you'll enjoy this one. Normal people have no problem in understanding what's happening in the movie.

jamesedunne 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