Client 9 - The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010)

Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney (Taxi To The Dark Side) turns his eye to the former Governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer, in his latest film. Once the self-proclaimed ‘Sheriff of Wall Street’ and on track to become president, Spitzer’s dalliances with a VIP escort service saw him toppled from power. Like all good Greek tragedies, Spitzer was victim to his hubris, and his secret shame plastered newspapers across America. But, Gibney posits, perhaps a good politician is worth some questionable sexual peccadilloes. With Spitzer out of the picture, Wall Street was able to roll back some of his stringent regulations, leading directly to the market crash of 2008. Did his powerful, and very rich enemies, target and track Spitzer, hoping to catch him in a scandal and out him from office?

So suggests Client-9, which is a fascinating, if occasionally fawning, character study of the man who would be king. Gibney offers some nice touches, opening and closing with artists describing the state of New York, and setting the scene for one of the biggest political scandals of recent years. As has already been mentioned, the parallels with classic Greek tragedies come thick and fast, but they’re not unwarranted. Gibney’s biggest coup is his one-on-one interview with a mostly-candid Spitzer, who is open and honest about the situation (without getting into grimy details) and accepting blame for his situation.

3/5

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