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Risk

2000, Movie, R, 92 mins

Risk: Review

RISK
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This thinking man's thriller, reminiscent of David Mamet's cynical portraits of the business world, suggests that the Australian insurance business exists on a slippery slope to perdition. In the dead-end world of claims adjustment, neophyte Ben Madigan (Tom Long) catches the eye of unscrupulous salesman John Kriesky (Bryan Brown), who figures the firm could pervert Ben's sympathetic nature into an asset. All Ben has to do is to persuade clients to settle for 80 percent of their original demands. What Ben doesn't know is that Kriesky funnels the 20 percent this strategy saves into a personal slush fund that benefits him rather than the company. In concert with his lover, shark-like attorney Louise (Claudia Karvan), Kriesky manages to avoid alerting the company's fraud squad. Louise stages accidents and presents fake claims that Kriesky pays out to himself and and their co-conspirators, who include doctors and cops. Once he's started wrapping up complaints to Kriesky's satisfaction, Ben finds himself enjoying the high life. Kriesky even suggests that Louise sleep with Ben in order to keep him besotted and malleable, never imagining that she's ruthless enough to turn on him. Louise teams up with some big-time crooks and plots to reap major profits from a freeway collision, but Kriesky knows that an accident of this magnitude will draw excessive scrutiny. Outraged by Louise's attempt to oust him, Kriesky hastily names Ben the beneficiary on his own life insurance policy, and takes steps to stop the greedy Louise from destroying their operation. Will Ben be squeezed out, or is he sharp and hard-hearted enough to turn Kriesky and Louise's standoff to his own advantage? Although the specifics of insurance adjusting are sometimes a bit technical, this fast-paced shell game never loses sight of its mean-spirited insights into human behavior. Like the similarly themed THE BANK (2001), this slickly directed and adroitly acted thriller will keep viewers on the edge of their seats. leave a comment --Robert Pardi
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