Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer

I guess it would take another documentary to explore how American public's puritanical beliefs make them so easy to manipulate by sleazy rich white guys. That'd probably be more interesting.

Stone is utterly full of shit, but in this story's case, he's on the winning side & you kind of feel that's the job he had to do and all he cares about doing. Fair play to him, one piece in the exhaustive partisan-driven mob hit of an up-and-comer within the democratic ranks. A big player with big ambition and a sellable background toppled. Great coverage and access from Gibney who explores a topic with all manner of characters and subplots in this deep dive into the sleaze of American politics

I've liked some of Gibney's documentaries but as soon as he starts talking about big business and Wall Street and silly conspiracies about bankers I get bored

A great examination of tough politics and a man who should still be holding high public office.

Alex Gibney seems to have nailed a documentary formula that is both entertaining and informative. This was a pretty fascinating, if mildly biased, look at corruption in politics and big business. Spitzer is not exactly vindicated in his portrayal, nor is he lambasted. The most interesting element was the exploration of the high-end escort service that brought about the governor's downfall, a company so glamorous and elite to the degree that it couldn't be anything but a great story.

Well-made tale of Spitzer's fall from grace, populated with a cast of fascinating, even bizarre, characters. Spitzer comes across as an honourable man, albeit with a temper and pride. And he never really explains why he threw it all away.

I find it very problematic that an actress performs the lines of an escort, and we happen to learn this later on. Completely unnecessary and off putting, if not radically against what a documentary is and should be. Not really informative and objective either.

"Relying on a bevy of circumstantial evidence and without proving much in the way of anything, Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer nonetheless homes in on a provocative and highly plausible thesis." - Andrew Schenker

The Shakespearean motif works well here; Gibney found a meaty character and ran with it.