The Deal

Beware of corrupt investment banks, global conspiracies and Russian corporations with sinister names like Black Star. So warns this cynical thriller in which a hotshot exec (Slater) investigates a shady oil merger while pursuing a fling with his firm's newest recruit (Blair), a tree-hugging Harvard M.B.A. Writer-producer Ruth Epstein's detailed script initially provides a compelling take on corporate greed and the machinations of big business, but in its latter half, The Deal loses credibility, with its feeble attempts at romance (there's zero chemistry between its leads) and suspense (the evening news is far spookier).