Chase's gain is wine bar's loss
The cinematic portrayal of Nick Leeson's misadventures on the Nikkei that led to the collapse of Baring Brothers in 1995 has not met with universal acclaim, to say the least. The film Rogue Trader treats moviegoers to a high-octane comedy romp through Singapore's financial community, as seen by history's most notorious futures trader. It will receive added publicity from the fact that Leeson is released from prison in Singapore this month.
The film has Leeson magically reincarnated into the nubile body of Scots hunk Ewan McGregor (full frontal nudity included), recently seen as Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. He comes across as the victim of nothing more than a prank gone wrong. Each trading loss prompts bigger laughs from the audience, as does the stilted script and wooden acting ("Oh Nick, what 'ave you done now?", wails wife Lisa Leeson, played by the delightful Anna Friel).
The Barings bankers are mercilessly played as upper-class dilettantes by the some of the UK's best comic talents. The Singaporean traders are seen as naive fools caught in the spell of Leeson's irrepressible charisma.