Nick Leeson was the man who broke the bank at Barings, and 'Rogue Trader' is a strictly by-the-book dramatisation of his autobiography. The basic story is essentially compelling (how could one man lose so much money?), but the pace is at times slow and some of the dialogue a bit leaden (especially when the film tries to explain the markets). Overall, it sticks to the orthodoxy that Leeson was just a rogue trader, a verdict oddly comforting to both Leeson (who can deny moral responsibility, on grounds of inadequate supervision) and Barings (who can deny technical responsibility for fraud). But if this line is going to stick, we need to understand Leeson's motivation: the film hints at fear, greed and that elusive "buzz" that comes from being top of the market, but is perhaps too kind to its protagonist and fails to present anything that truly explains quite how he managed to get in so deep (we are moved from losses of £60,000 to losses of ten million in a single scene). A less likeable hero than that portrayed by Ewan MacGregor might have been more convincing, and thereby (ironically) more sympathetic. As it is, it's hard to care.
Review of Rogue Trader
