The Deal (2008)

 

Our rating: 2 out of 5

Rated: R

reviewed by: Charity Bishop
 

Many elements must combine to make a decent thriller, and for every good one that manages to become a box office success, there are a dozen more that fail to impress. The Deal has its decent moments and solid acting by some of the best under-appreciated actors in the market, but suffers from an overly complicated plot and predictable outcome.

Due to an ongoing war with the "Confederation of Arab States," gas prices in America are soaring, and the economy has plunged into a dangerous slump. Condor is working on a deal to ease America's gas shortage through a merger by Blackstar, an overseas company who claims to have deep oil reserves in Kazakhstan. The CEO of Condor (Robert Loggia) has been unable to convince his board of the worth of the merger, and seeks the assistance of fast-talking Wall Street tycoon Tom Hanson (Christian Slater) to intervene. Even though this treads on the toes of his firm's official oil attorneys, Hanson is not about to turn down a twenty-five million dollar tab if the deal goes through. Not only will he come away a wealthier man, he'll also be single-handedly carrying the firm through its toughest year.

New to the firm is the ethical Abbey Gallagher (Selma Blair), who has been brought on board simply to learn how the real world works and attempt to make a difference when it comes to economical concerns. A staunch tree hugger in her spare time, it doesn't take her long to create sparks with Hanson, and the two embark on a secret romance while attempting to seal the deal with Condor and Blackstar. But when Hanson attempts to learn more about the oil business, he turns up some suspicious behavior and dead ends. It appears that Blackstar doesn't want him looking into the merger, and will stop at nothing (even murder) to prove their point. 

While the film provides numerous twists and turns, I found it difficult to follow. The script presumes the viewing audience will already know everything about mergers, business on Wall Street, and law firms. It never bothers to inform us what Hanson actually does for a living, or how he becomes involved with the beautiful Anna (Angie Harmon) after the divorce of his wife. I never did figure out how he was related to the first murder victim. It also comes to the table with a hearty anti-big-corporation- and- oil- tycoons bias (not to mention the ultimate conclusion that the government is evil), and the timing of the release might also be a less-than-good-natured jab at the current political administration, formerly rising gas prices, and the war in Iraq. Conservatives might grit their teeth at the harsh portrayal of big businessmen, and the pro-ecological slant at the beginning and end.

Hanson is not the most likable of characters (not too fond of him sleeping with one woman, and leading the other on), but Slater plays him with as much enthusiasm as can be mustered. The film really belongs to its leading ladies ... Blair's charming and at times childish Abbey is a scene-stealer, and Harmon's icy presence brings just enough bite to her scenes. Some of them are deliciously diabolical. There are some decent "alarming" sequences in the film, such as when Hanson finds what he presumes is a human heart in a pool of blood in his refrigerator, and the ominous feeling that accompanies Abbey down a dark city street at night. One of my favorite characters was actually the tormented Russian who attempts numerous times, without success, to gain her interest. The fault here, beyond the confusing screenplay (which I cannot help but think would have carried more weight had John Grisham written it) is the content. For the first half of the film, everything is docile. Murders are carried out, but without much blood and the sexual relationship between Hanson and Abbey is much more intimidated than shown. (Lots of passionate kissing and flirting.) And to be honest, that carries through to the end of the film. But once you hit the midway point, a slew of f-words starts flying through the dialogue with so much velocity that you rapidly lose count. Adjective, verb, literal use, it doesn't seem to matter. Anywhere "hell" might have been, the f-word is thrown in as if to reassure people that this is an "adult" drama. Never mind that most adults in the business world don't talk that way.