Watch Rogue Trader

Rogue Trader is a classic British movie based on the true story of Nick Leeson (played by Ewan McGregor), a young financial whiz who found himself at the center of one of the biggest financial scandals of the early 1990s. The movie was released in 1999 and directed by James Dearden, who also wrote the screenplay. Nick Leeson is a young man from a working-class family who lands a job as a clerk in the trading department of the prestigious Barings Bank in London. He quickly impresses his boss with his savvy and ambition, and soon he is hired as a derivatives trader. Nick is sent to work in the bank's office in Singapore, where he is given a huge amount of autonomy and freedom to make trades.

Nick makes some risky trades that pay off handsomely, but he also starts to conceal his losses from his bosses, hoping to recoup his losses in future trades. The movie shows the intense pressure that Nick is under to perform and the lengths to which he goes to cover up his mistakes. He begins to create a web of lies to hide his losses, using secret accounts and falsified documents to make it look like his trades are profitable.

Inevitably, Nick's web of deceit unravels, and when a massive earthquake hits Japan, causing the Asian financial markets to crash, the real extent of his losses is exposed. Barings Bank is forced to close its doors, and Nick is arrested and charged with fraud and forgery.

The movie is a gripping portrayal of the events leading up to the Barings Bank collapse, and Ewan McGregor's performance as Nick Leeson is excellent. He captures the character's charm and ambition, as well as his arrogance and recklessness. Anna Friel plays Nick's wife, Lisa, and she brings a much-needed sense of humanity and emotion to the story.

What makes the movie so compelling is the way it shows the psychological pressures that Nick is under, as well as the ethical dilemmas he faces. We see how he tries to justify his actions to himself, even as he knows that what he is doing is wrong. The movie is also an indictment of the banking system and the way it rewards risk-taking and punishes failure.

Overall, Rogue Trader is a must-see movie for anyone interested in the world of finance and banking. It's a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked ambition and the importance of integrity and honesty in business. It's a well-crafted and engrossing movie that will leave you thinking about the issues it raises long after the credits have rolled.

Rogue Trader is a 1998 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 41 minutes.