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

91% of critics liked it
(66 reviews)
83% of users liked it
(1,842 ratings)

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… More 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 and 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.-- (C) Magnolia

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 57 min.
Directed By: Alex Gibney
Genres: Documentary, Special Interest

In Theaters: Nov 5, 2010 Limited
On DVD: Jan 25, 2011
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

Critic Reviews

Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail
Gibney doesn't have anything more than tantalizing clues and a huge amount of circumstantial evidence, but he doesn't need much more than that to indict Wall Street itself.
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
As Gibney demonstrates in Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, plenty of politicians remained in office amid similar revelations.
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
It's the coolness of Gibney's account of the possibly systematic sabotaging of Spitzer's career, perpetrated by a strangely camera-friendly cast of enemies-cum-conspirators, that makes it such transfixing viewing.
Christy Lemire, Associated Press
You want tears? You want convulsive sobs, weepy remorse, pleadings for forgiveness? Well, look elsewhere, because Eliot Spitzer isn't going to give them to you.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
It leaves the unmistakable impression that there's more to this iteration of a story that, animated by hubris, lust, self-deception and love of power, is sure to play out again.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
A sad, disturbing and in some ways tragic tale that in its lurid combination of sex and politics, banal hypocrisy and bare-knuckles power, seems very much an American story of our times.
Simon Miraudo, Quickflix
Client-9 ... is a fascinating, if occasionally fawning, character study of the man who would be king.
Allan Hunter, Daily Express
Informative and thought-provoking...
Philip French, Guardian [UK]
It's a riveting story of personal hubris and political chicanery.
David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]
Featuring interviews with the man himself, his enemies and one of the hookers, this isn't just a fascinating yarn but a, cough, penetrating character study.
Shaun Munro, What Culture
Client 9 probably won't make you like Elliot Spitzer, but it will damn sure make you respect him.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Scary, fascinating stuff.
Matt Bochenski, Little White Lies
Alex Gibney has a knack for telling great stories in a lucid fashion, and this story's a good 'un.
Sukhdev Sandhu, Daily Telegraph
As corporate exposes go, it's best to stick with Inside Job.
Karen Krizanovich, Radio Times
A sharp and very American probe into payback that puts forward a strong, if not entirely watertight, case.
Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
The film lights up a complex story like a pinball machine.
Sam Wigley, Total Film
Interviews with Spitzer, those exclusive madams and vengeful Republicans are woven into a compulsively fascinating probe of power and its dark side.
Jeff Meyers, Metro Times (Detroit, MI)
As a lens into the microcosm of politics, it's as depressing as it is enlightening, demonstrating how truly we have become a country by the corporations, of the corporations and for the corporations.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
So was Spitzer a closet danger junkie, a stranger sex addict, victim of a stern tycoon dad 'who foreclosed me in monopoly,' or done in by an adolescent omnipotence that enormous power and wealth can bring. A shrink's two cents would have been helpful.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
So was Spitzer a closet danger junkie, a stranger sex addict, victim of a stern tycoon dad 'who foreclosed me in monopoly,' or done in by an adolescent omnipotence that enormous power and wealth can bring. A shrink's two cents would have been helpful.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Nate Z

Alex Gibney, the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker behind Enron and Taxi to the Dark Side, rolls out his third 2010 entry in what must have been a rather exhausting year for the man. The focus is on former New York attorney general and governor Eliot Spitzer and his fall from grace… More
Alex Gibney, the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker behind Enron and Taxi to the Dark Side, rolls out his third 2010 entry in what must have been a rather exhausting year for the man. The focus is on former New York attorney general and governor Eliot Spitzer and his fall from grace after being linked to a high-end prostitution ring. Gibney charts the man's rise and fall in a fairly straightforward and engaging manner, though you start to wonder if there's really enough material to fill out a two-hour feature. Spitzer speaks candidly and will not humbly vanish as some may wish; the man is an intriguing mixture of righteousness, ego, and humility. What's most fascinating about Client 9 (named after Spitzer's name in the FBI sting) is that Spitzer gained a wealth of enemies when he went after Wall Street largesse and greedy shenanigans, and they all want to be on camera. No one with a serious grudge against Spitzer, including men who have since been convicted of crimes and ethics violations, refuses an interview. Gibney draws together a fairly convincing thesis on the takedown of Spitzer, a cabal of powerful execs, politically motivated prosecutors in the Bush administration, and government officials who reject accountability. It's all circumstantial evidence, to be sure, but there's a mountain of it. There is a definite conservative-backed coordinated effort to sully and embarrass the man. But ultimately, Spitzer admits that he is responsible for his sins. You will never get full satisfying clarity as to why he sought out the comfort of prostitutes in the first place. I don't think even Spitzer knows for sure. But that's an age-old mystery that can't be tied up in two hours. Nate's Grade: B
Reid V

Alex Gibney's foray into the mind of Eliot Spitzer makes for an excellent and thought provoking film. Spitzer is candid in his interview and Gibney really captures all of the idiosyncrasies that this controversial figure has to offer. He is full of hubris, over-ambitious, and a… More
Alex Gibney's foray into the mind of Eliot Spitzer makes for an excellent and thought provoking film. Spitzer is candid in his interview and Gibney really captures all of the idiosyncrasies that this controversial figure has to offer. He is full of hubris, over-ambitious, and a force to be reckoned with. Yet, rather than just partake in an Diane Sawyer-esque interview, in which the subject is asked loaded questions in hopes to illicit some sort of emotional or knee jerk reaction, Gibney leaves the judgements to the tabloids. Instead, he asks why. Why was he the target of a federal case when federal cases usually go after the prostitution service rather than the patron? For what exact reasons was he singled out and whom would have wanted to see his political life disintegrate? Also, why did the public so eagerly latch onto this particular case and consequently make a star out of "Spitzer's Girl?" From Spitzer's time as attorney general to his stint as the governor of New York City, Gibney shows the upheaval that this self proclaimed "Sheriff of Wall Street" caused and the numerous enemies that he amassed along the way. While the narrative is pretty straight forward, Gibney brings to the surface some really poignant questions. How "evil" is a man who has made some personal mistakes, but is one of the only politicians attempting to bring some justice to the amorphous greed that runs rampant on Wall Street? The city plays an important role in the film as well as much of the dialogue is played over shots of the city. Gibney even frames the interviews of the financial giants with the hustle and bustle of the city seen in the background. These men appear to be ambassadors of a city whose ethos is excess. There is a lot to chew on in this film and it is simply one of the best documentaries I have seen in a long while.
Ken S

Fascinating documentary from the guy who made Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and Taxi to the Dark Side.
Walter M

For those of you who might have forgotten or do not live in New York, Eliot Spitzer was the governor of New York who was forced to resign after a year in office, due to a sex scandal. He came to prominence as the state attorney general, going after Wall Street's greedy and… More
For those of you who might have forgotten or do not live in New York, Eliot Spitzer was the governor of New York who was forced to resign after a year in office, due to a sex scandal. He came to prominence as the state attorney general, going after Wall Street's greedy and immoral practices, foreseeing Wall Street's 2008 collapse. Even with Spitzer on hand to answer questions, there is really not that much insight in the documentary "Client 9" as to why Spitzer did what he did, concerning his fall from grace, thus helping to destroy the great man theory of history. Said downfall began in March 2006 when he started paying escorts for sex which was also the same time his run for governor began, immediately followed by mentions in the media of a future Presidential run. Before getting ahead of ourselves, rewind to the fact that Spitzer made a great prosecutor where his 'my way or the highway' style worked wonders but did not work as well in the state house where he was a questionable governor at best, unwilling to work with others. And maybe he knew that going in, causing him to self-destruct before things got any farther so as not to disappoint his domineering father. In fact, you could say that Spitzer had a talent for making powerful enemies(including billionaire Paul Langone, AIG CEO Hank Greenberg and State Senate Senate President Joseph Bruno)but not friends, and it should have surprised nobody that they would go after him, eventually exposing him.(By contrast, there are tons of people in this country who would give half of their reproductive organs to get anything on Ralph Nader. The end result: nothing.) And he would probably not have had to resign if he had the backing of his party which he did not. That goes back to what Sydney Biddle Barrows wrote about escorts(of which too much time is spent on in the documentary) in that it is as much about the sex as it is about companionship, especially for somebody who is so lonely. For the record, I do believe David Paterson was mainly brought up on charges of corruption towards the end of his term of office due to his poor chances of winning election to a full term. This is one of only three conspiracy theories I actually believe in.
Alec B

If your surprised that politics, sex, greed, and corruption go hand in hand, or that the New York Post is a joke than you're either a hermit or a child. Still the tale of Spitzer's triumphs and his destruction at the hands of his own hubris and the Wall Street businessmen… More
If your surprised that politics, sex, greed, and corruption go hand in hand, or that the New York Post is a joke than you're either a hermit or a child. Still the tale of Spitzer's triumphs and his destruction at the hands of his own hubris and the Wall Street businessmen who were his brutal enemies is rather interesting.
matt s

Fascinating. My favorite part of The Other Guys was the neat graphs during the credits. Well, here's the story of a man who tried to stop stuff like that - the corrupt hedge funds, Wall Street games, etc.- he was destined to become THE man in politics. But his dick got in the… More
Fascinating. My favorite part of The Other Guys was the neat graphs during the credits. Well, here's the story of a man who tried to stop stuff like that - the corrupt hedge funds, Wall Street games, etc.- he was destined to become THE man in politics. But his dick got in the way, and, alas, we see Spitzer for what he really is - full of great intentions of wanting to do things right, but still a ruthless politician whose presence may be strong, but is as calculated as Philip Seymour Hoffman's character ticks.