Rogue Trader (1998)
Director: James Dearden
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Ewan McGregor is Nick Leeson, the Watford chancer who single-handedly destroyed the oldest private bank in the world. How he did this is a source of fascination, yet the film's portrayal of futures trading on the Singapore International Money Exchange is a decidedly plodding assemblage of flashing computer displays, jostling traders in striped blazers, and cutaways to McGregor, bright-eyed or sunken-cheeked as the occasion demands. Rather than aiming for savage satire or ultrablack comedy, the film (based on Leeson's own book) simply plays it down the middle, taking the line that this child of Thatcherism was merely doing his employers' bidding, got in way too deep, and never had the proper management around him. Though his 'gor blimey' accent may grate, McGregor puts his all into the role; his sweating earnestness, however, isn't enough to break the overall inertia, and the rest of the cast are simply bystanders. Anna Friel gets the thankless task of bored housewife Lisa Leeson, while the likes of Tim McInnerny and John Standing compete for the upper-class twit-of-the-year honours as the flailing, plum-toned Barings Bank top brass.Author: TJ
Cast & crew
Director: James Dearden
Producer: James Dearden, Paul Raphael, Janette Day
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Anna Friel, Yves Beneyton, Betsy Brantley, Caroline Langrishe, Nigel Lindsay, Tim McInnerny, Irene Ng, John Standing, Pip Torrens full cast
Duration: 101 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Hippies who work for The Man
To celebrate George Clooney comedy 'The Men who Stare at Goats', we look back at six memorable onscreen hippies who fought the system from within
Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies
Ahead of the release of '2012', Roland Emmerich offers his ten tips on creating the perfect global catastrophe
Grant Heslov: interview
Grant Heslov, director of 'The Men who Stare at Goats' talks about his old pal George Clooney, his interest in the paranormal, and his fond memories of working on 'Happy Days'
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Michael Jackson's This Is It: review
Kenny Ortega's posthumous concert film is a rousing eulogy for one of pop's great enigmas
Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace
From Cannes to Munich to London, Dave Calhoun tours Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Lone Scherfig talks 'An Education'
Danish director Lone Scherfig was an unlikely choice for a very English affair like 'An Education'. Cath Clarke meets her
How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life
Time Out gets Romantic with the ‘difficult’ New Zealander about her new film, 'Bright Star'
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations












What do you think?
Post your review now