The Deal (2004)

21% of critics liked it
(34 reviews)
22% of users liked it
(311 ratings)

Money and power bring major corruption to the world's energy marketplace in this taut political drama. After a long war between the United States and a coalition of Middle Eastern nations leads to a gap in the flow of multinational oil trading, the price of gasoline in America shoots past six… More Money and power bring major corruption to the world's energy marketplace in this taut political drama. After a long war between the United States and a coalition of Middle Eastern nations leads to a gap in the flow of multinational oil trading, the price of gasoline in America shoots past six dollars a gallon and both the energy industry and the stock market are walking on thin ice. In the midst of this instability, Tom Hansen (Christian Slater), a leading advisor at of one Wall Street's top firms, is looking to hire new talent to help with his latest client, Condor Oil and Gas. Condor's CEO, Jared Tolson (Robert Loggia) used to employ Tom's best friend until the younger man died in a mysterious accident, and Tom is eager to do what he can for Jared. Tom hires Abbey Gallagher (Selma Blair) to assist with the Condor account; Abbey is a passionate environmental activist who is wary of associating herself with a major energy firm, but her mentor Prof. Roseman (John Heard) persuades her she can be an advocate for green concerns on the inside. As Tom and Abbey spend more time together, they become romantically drawn to one another, but Tom's love for her puts Abbey in great danger when she finds out what he knows about illegal oil trading operations and money laundering schemes that link Condor with the Russian Mafia. The Deal also stars Colm Feore, Angie Harmon, and Françoise Yip. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 47 min.
Directed By: Harvey Kahn
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Jun 17, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Aug 16, 2005

Critic Reviews

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
There's too much of that inside-baseball talk, and too many ridiculous plot turns that require intelligent people to make really stupid decisions, just so the suspense can be sustained.
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Epstein and Kahn might have been better off leaving the assassinations, kidnappings and cliffhangers to Grisham and made a simpler, more realistic movie about a desperate young banker juggling deals and trying to stay afloat.
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
Far from the real deal when it comes to even a modicum of plausibility on a politically hot topic.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Seldom entertaining.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
The Deal clearly aims at being a roman-a-clef. Instead it's more of a roman-a-clumsy.
Jami Bernard, New York Daily News
Full of dizzying technical detail that only those in mergers-and-acquisitions may fully appreciate.
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
The elaborate suspense revolving around the toxic mix of oil, money and politics that the media only ever seems to brush the surface, makes for heady viewing.
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
The elaborate suspense revolving around the toxic mix of oil, money and politics that the media only ever seems to brush the surface, makes for heady viewing.
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
[T]he feeling of concrete, this-ain't-science-fiction reality the film creates is effectively low-key eerie...
Todd Gilchrist, IGN Movies
Works more effectively as a collegiate dissertation than a fictional dissection of people caught in events beyond their control.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...astoundingly dull...
Scott Weinberg, DVDTalk.com
Basically, The Deal looks and sounds a whole lot like a big-budget, feature-length TV commercial for Merrill Lynch.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Most of the action takes place in board meetings, with characters handing each other secret memos or talking on the phone; it's a shockingly non-visual movie.
Peter Sobczynski, eFilmCritic.com
Would you put a billion-dollar deal in the hands of Christian Slater?
Harvey S. Karten, Compuserve
Though torn from tomorrow's political headlines, the story is too convoluted to be either entertaining or comprehensible.
Eric Lurio, Greenwich Village Gazette
This is one hell of a cast and they all do a great job with the piss-poor script.