Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer

Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer

Jim Darling and friend in CLIENT 9: THE RISE AND FALL OF ELIOT SPITZER, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer

Themselves:
Director:
Writer:
Producer:
Executive Producer:
Cinematographer:
Editor:
Music:
Music Supervisor:
Distributor:
Production Company:

* Most external filmography links go to The Internet Movie Database.

Home/Social Media Links
Other Links

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

Opened: 11/05/2010 Limited

Limited11/05/2010
Angelika/NYC11/05/2010 - 11/18/201014 days
Sunset 5/LA11/12/2010 - 11/25/201014 days
Laemmle's Town...11/12/2010 - 11/18/20107 days
Laemmle's Play...11/19/2010 - 11/25/20107 days
Village East11/19/2010 - 11/23/20105 days
Cinema Village...11/26/2010 - 12/02/20107 days
Cinema Village...12/17/2010 - 12/23/20107 days
DVD01/25/2011

Trailer: Click for trailer

Genre: Documentary

Rated: R for some sexual material, nudity and language.

Synopsis

This documentary feature takes an in-depth look at the rapid rise and dramatic fall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. Nicknamed "The Sheriff of Wall Street," when he was NY's Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer prosecuted crimes by America's largest financial institutions and some of the most powerful executives in the country. After his election as Governor, with the largest margin in the state's history, many believed Spitzer was on his way to becoming the nation's first Jewish President. Then, shockingly, Spitzer's meteoric rise turned into a precipitous fall when the New York Times revealed that Spitzer - the paragon of rectitude - had been caught seeing prostitutes. As his powerful enemies gloated, his supporters questioned the timing of it all: as the Sheriff fell, so did the financial markets, in a cataclysm that threatened to unravel the global economy. With unique access to the escort world as well as friends, colleagues and enemies of the ex-Governor (many of whom have come forward for the first time) the film explores the hidden contours of this tale of hubris, sex, and power.

About the Film

Sex and lies, power and passion, high ideals and cut-throat enemies collide in comic and tragic ways in Alex Gibney's provocative new film CLIENT--9 -- a gripping and revelatory blow-by-blow portrait of an extraordinary American scandal.

At the heart of CLIENT--9 is an incredible true story that plays like a 21st century Greek drama: former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who rose to the top, fueled by genius and ambition, and then lost it all, seemingly in a blaze of bad behavior. He was one of the most powerful men in America -- a rising New York politician of such natural charisma and skill that he was often described as a future candidate for President. He fought corruption and championed ethics. He was a relentless, swaggeringly tough crusader who wanted to change the way society worked -- and long before the global financial meltdown, he was hell-bent on exposing the reckless crimes of well-heeled Wall Street bankers, operating outside of any sense of moral obligation or control.

Then suddenly, Spitzer took a supersonic fall from grace, publicly shamed as "Client-9" -- caught on a FBI wiretap arranging to meet a $1000-a-night escort from the Emperors Club VIP, an "escort service" providing high-priced prostitutes to Manhattan's rich and influential.

Was Spitzer's shocking downfall the consequence of a private, personal flaw? Or was it the result of carefully orchestrated revenge by powerful enemies? Or . . . was it a perfect storm in which the two suddenly collided?

Oscar® winning filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi To The Dark Side, and the Oscar nominated documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) unfolds each facet of the story in a mix of investigative journalism, complex human mystery and dark comedy.

Gibney anchors his film around unprecedented interviews with Spitzer himself, who talks for the first time on screen about his hubris, his infamous rages (often referred to, by his staffers, as appearances of Spitzer's "evil twin Irwin") and his illicit desires. But simultaneously, Gibney tracks the agendas of Spitzer's friends, opponents, Wall Street targets, favorite consorts and madams (who speak in the film for the very first time) to tell the full story as it has never before been told. What emerges is a witty and richly entertaining look at how lust, talent, money, righteousness and personality can turn from powerful to perilous overnight -- especially if you make the wrong enemies.

Magnolia Pictures presents CLIENT--9 directed by Alex Gibney and produced by Gibney, Todd Wider, Jedd Wider and Maiken Baird. The cinematographer is Maryse Alberti and the editor is Plummy Tucker, A.C.E.

DVD

DVD | Blu-ray

Amazon.com