ROGUE TRADER
STARRING: Ewan McGregor, Anna Friel, Tim McInnerny Directed by: James Dearden
UK Release date: Out Now Score: 8/10 On: VHS
Ewan McGregor is doing alright for himself, considering that, until recently, his most memorable screen moment involved diving headfirst into a festering toilet bowl.
Now the young Scot is flying high on the success of numerous varied film projects and probably the most sought after part in modern cinema, that of Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode 1. However, as he swishes that lightsabre in multiplexes across the country, another starring role sees him ruin an empire of a totally different nature.
Rogue Trader is the true story of Nick Leeson, an ambitious young man from Watford who single handedly brought about financial chaos in the eastern stock markets with his exploits. Starring alongside him is Brookside's Anna Friel as Nick's wife, Lisa. Being based on a true story (or more accurately based on Nick Leeson's book) means that many people will have some idea of what happened before they find their seats in the cinema. Often, this means that a film will take liberties with the truth, either over glamorising the facts or playing down less "interesting" elements of the story.
While I don't claim to know the details of the real life events, those details that I picked up from the news at the time seem to have been faithfully re-created here. The tone of the film certainly makes no attempt to turn the story into some sort of modern day Robin Hood tale.
That being said, the whole film is told from Leeson's point of view, with McGregor's narrating in places, so some bias, I expect, is unavoidable. I wasn't sure if I would enjoy a movie when I basically knew how the story ended, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Rather than try to build to a memorable climax, the film takes Ewan McGregor's talent and showcases it for the duration of the film. Put mildly he is fantastic in this role. He is more than believable as the young Londoner who gets out of his depth. We really feel Leeson's passion for the risky business of futures trading and take to him because of it, yet at the same time, showing his arrogance, his absurd risks and naive hope that he can fix the situation, prevent the film becoming an all-out piece of propaganda.
It could be more down to McGregor's inherent likeable nature that we feel for his character, but so what? I didn't go to see the film to judge Leeson, that's been done. I did go to hear a little about the man and how he could possibly have brought about the events that occurred. It might be unfair to say that this film stands on McGregor's performance alone, but at times it feels that way.
Anna Friel is good as Nick's wife but has little more than window dressing duties and Tim McInnerny is fun to watch as one of Leeson's superiors, but its McGregor's film without a doubt.
Good performances and a downright incredible story (albeit without any glitz, special effects or Hollywood spin) make this worthy or your cinema money and provides another jewel in the crown of the prince of British acting talent.
Reviewed By McNab