‘Deal’ a Cold War/Wall Street thriller

In a world where gasoline costs six dollars a gallon, how far will

people go to broker an oil company merger?

That’s the question at the root of “The Deal,” a political

thriller set on Wall Street. As is always the case in this kind of

movie, nothing is what it seems to be.

“The Deal” takes place at a time in the near future when America

is at war with “The Confederation of Arab States.” Because we’re at

war with the entire Arab world, it’s now against U.S. law for

American companies to buy Arab oil. This results in sky-high gasoline

prices that wreak havoc with our economy.

What we need is a new source of oil, and it just so happens that a

Russian oil company with billions of gallons of oil in Kazakhstan is

ready to agree to a U.S. takeover bid. The only thing standing in the

way of the deal is approval by the board of directors of the U.S.

company making the purchase.

To protect their stockholders, they need assurances that the

Russians really have the oil they claim to be selling. To investigate

the Russians, the company hires Tom Hanson (Christian Slater), a

senior executive whose Wall Street firm still has a spotless

reputation for integrity. If he and his brokerage agree to certify

the Russians, the board will give the deal a thumbs-up vote.

Hanson’s investigation arouses the ire of Russian mobsters who

don’t like people who ask too many questions. As he learns more about

the Russian company, he becomes more suspicious of their oil assets.

The story then unfolds into a hybrid between a Cold War thriller

and a behind-the-scenes story about the workings of Wall Street.

Throw in the looming threat of the Securities and Exchange Commission

ethics task force, co-workers who would like to see the deal fail

just to protect their own piece of office turf, and a pair of

romantic interests that Hanson has to juggle carefully, and you’ve

got a story that twists and turns like a speeding SUV on an unmapped

back road.

One of the things that makes “The Deal” especially entertaining is

the political realism Hanson faces. The movie is written by a former

Goldman Sachs vice president who knows first-hand the type of

hardball played inside a Wall Street brokerage. Anyone who’s dealt

with Fortune 500 executives will see the humor and truth to Hanson’s

problems at work.

He tells love interest Abbey Gallagher (Selma Blair) that this is

a place where he expects his best friend to stab him in the back.

Abbey has her own ideas about how to deal with the energy problems,

but she also has to deal with politics on Wall Street and in

Washington.

It seems kind of odd to be calling a movie low budget because it

was made for under $10 million, but these days that’s a low budget

for a movie. The financial restraints put the onus on the very

talented cast to provide the action and they deliver the goods.

Slater and Blair both deliver great performances, as does everyone

else. This movie features a lot of familiar faces including Robert

Loggia, Angie Harmon, Colm Feore, Kevin Tighe and John Heard. Loggia

in particular is always fun to watch. He’s got a gritty presence that

feels true and commands the entire screen.

Low budget also means limited release, and “The Deal” isn’t a

movie that’s playing everywhere across America. A movie about

America’s addiction to black crack may be a little too controversial

for some distributors, especially at a time when we’re at war with an

oil-producing nation.

It’s a shame that more people won’t get the chance to see this

one, because it’s a fun ride. Some parts of the story are

predictable, but you still won’t see the punch coming until it hits

you.

This one is well worth the price of admission and popcorn. My

advice is, get to the theater and see it while you’ve got the chance.

* JIM ERWIN, 40, is a technical writer and computer trainer.