16. Ewan McGregor Movie Review: Rogue Trader (1999)

16. Ewan McGregor Movie Review: Rogue Trader (1999)

We're nearing the end of Ewan's 90's movie run! This movie took me a looooong time to get through because it's so anxiety inducing! You've heard of second-hand embarrassment? Well, get ready for second-hand panic lol.

Fun Fact: Pip Torrens plays a supporting role in this movie as the boss of Ewan McGregor's character. They worked together on the 1995 television show "Kavanagh Q.C."

Genre: Thriller/Crime

Rating: R

Director: James Dearden

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Anna Friel

Synopsis: "Rogue Trader" is based on a real person and event which makes it even more painful to watch. The movie is about Nick Leeson, a young and ambitious employee at England's second oldest bank, Barings. Nick's dream is to work as an investment trader for the bank and after hard work, earns the position. His ambitions don't end there and as he strives to make a name for himself by any means necessary, his pride and deception lead to a catastrophic end that shocks the world.

Ewan Review: Ewan McGregor plays the main character Nick Leeson. Nick is a plucky young man eager to make his mark in the investing world. He's charming, intelligent, and cares deeply for his wife and employees. Unfortunately, he uses these positive traits to his own detriment and the detriment of others. As you watch this movie, it becomes increasingly clear why Ewan was hired for the project as he is Mr. Prince Charming himself. Ewan brings a soft touch to this role. Making a man who caused irreparable harm to god knows how many people sympathetic. You want to see his luck turn around. You want him to do the right thing even as he digs himself deeper and deeper into his mess. Ewan has a love interest in this role and several kiss scenes. He has a nude makeout scene, and is shirtless multiple times. He also gets a very clear ass shot. He gets extremely anxious, and sleep deprived. You will literally see him shake, cry, or throw up at least once. He gets hit in the face with a chair at a bar fight and has a couple boxing scenes. In other words, there's a lot of yummy content in here.

Screentime Percentage: Ewan McGregor is on screen for a whopping grand total of.....65 / 94 minutes! This makes his SP 69% 😱 That is a HUGE amount! "Trainspotting" has finally been dethroned and I honestly don't know what movie, if any, is going to top this score. So start placing your bets!

To Ewan or not to Ewan: Is the movie worth watching for Ewan content alone? Yes. Is it worth watching in general? Yes.

Warning Before Watching: In the very beginning of the movie, a man flashes his penis at a woman he's hitting on. You don't see his penis but it's uncomfortable to watch just the same. There is a miscarriage scene that features light bleeding. It's not graphic but if you're sensitive to such topics and would like to skip, it starts at 53:00 and ends at 54:06.

Where to Watch: Rogue Trader is available for rent on Fandango at Home and Amazon Prime Video. It is also currently uploaded for free on YouTube through the channels "Retrospective - Classic Movies" and "Real Drama". Just search "Rogue Trader 1999" and both options will come up.

Vent (TW for mentions of self harm and binge eating)

Work was bad today. Really really bad. Physically painful bad. I feel so invisible and worthless. Not just by management. Of they don't care about any of us. But by my coworkers too. I know I'm different. I know I'm not like them. I feel like I'm their punching bag because I'm different. Then today my parents showed up at my job demanding to see me. I'm no contact with my parents. It was a hard decision to come to and they act like they don't know what "no contact" means. I was angry and scared. What if they forced their way into where I was? What if they caused a scene? I couldn't stop myself from shaking. Thankfully they left after being told twice. It made me worry that they would just wait for me at my house. At any time they could just show up as if I owe them my time. I hate it! I hate it! I hate it! I don't want to deal with this! I want to hurt myself. Instead I bought a bunch of food to binge. Neither option is good...I feel so out of control. I hate my life and I hate myself. I just want to escape somewhere I can be totally safe and happy. I knew that once I got home I was going to drown myself in Ewan McGregor content. It's the only thing right now that I can count on to be there for me. To fill me with happiness. I'm thankful for my mutuals on here and artists, writers, gif makers, and everything in between too. You're creativity and kindness provide the means for my escape from reality. I don't know how to end this. That's all.

Ramblings

I'm not feeling so well. I'm so dependent on my phone. I'm acutely aware of every second I spend on it and feel guilty for not doing something, ANYTHING else. What really bothers me is that I think that I see my phone as a lifeline. It's the last and only connection I have to people, to the world, at this point. I could force myself to go and do something else. But why? Why would I suffer being alone? And for how long? I could die right now and I don't think anyone in my physical life would miss me. Not for a long time anyway. Online, I exist. I think I'm starting to understand Sword Art Online now lol. I can like posts and leave comments and share things and have an actual effect on here. For better it worse. At least I know I'm alive because maybe I can get a reaction. I don't exist outside of here. I'm nobody. It feels so good to feel like I'm talking to people. Even if I just leave a one word comment I've "talked" to someone today. I'm alive and I matter. What I say and do matters. And sometimes people are even interested in me back! What I say means something when in my physical life I don't have a voice. I just want to matter. To be loved. To know what it feels like to exist all the time.

I actually just watched this scene yesterday! I haven't seen the play so I'm going off the movie. My opinion is option A. Before Christian starts singing, he is reciting the lyrics which means that he didn't make it up on the spot. Now, I don't think he was necessarily prepared to start singing. That part was spontaneous. Otherwise, he would have began by singing instead of spoken word. What do you guys think?

okay real talk do we think when christian performs your song for satine is it a) the poem/song he had prepared to audition for her or b) he was so inspired by seeing her that he abandoned the previously prepared material and came up with this on the spot

GUYS! GUYS! GUYS! Look at what I bought at the Thrift Store today!!!

I went to the thrift store to buy clothes and didn't find anything I wanted so I decided to peruse the movie section and I saw this gem! I almost screamed! I LOVE this movie so much; I can't believe I'm so lucky to have found it! I now have two Ewan McGregor movies, yay!

That fic you wrote?

The one about the ship no one else cares about, or the deeply unpopular character, or the extremely unusual AU?

The fic that got no comments or kudos when you posted it?

Months or years from now, that fic might be exactly what someone is looking for in the sea of fics about all the popular characters, ships, and AUs.

Your fic might be the only fic out there that has what someone is looking for. The only fic that scratches the itch that it turns out you and that reader share.

And that's awesome.