As much as I hated Arbitrage, it would make a fascinating double feature with A Most Violent Year. Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) runs a heating oil business in New York City in 1981. He is on the cusp of acquiring a huge investment but must contend with jealous and vindictive business rivals, an ongoing fraud investigation, and near constant hijacking of his trucks by enterprising thieves. Through all these trials, Abel struggles to maintain his principles and a clean reputation, even when those around him urge violence and illegality as shortcuts to success.
It's a good contrast with Richard Gere's character in Arbitrage in that Abel Morales is the only good man trying to resist corruption while Gere's Robert Miller taints everything he touches. You could see them as opposing forces or as a before/after on the dangers of power. Up to you but I think it's kind of a neat idea.
Otherwise, there's not much else I liked about the film. It's very much a character drama (boo, hiss) with an A-list cast. Jessica Chastain is cold and brittle, David Oyelowo is calculating, and Albert Brooks is a weasel. I found it difficult to care about the central mystery of who was stealing from Abel's trucks and some of the character interactions made no sense to me, but this is not remotely the kind of movie I would pick out to watch on my own (Thanks, Golden Globes!).
It's streaming on Netflix currently if that sounds like a good time to you.
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