kayaker36 This two hour depiction of the rise and sudden fall of a dedicated public servant is built around two interviews: one with Eliot Spitzer himself, post-resignation, the other with a young actress playing the part of one "Angelina", a high class prostitute. Angelina claims to have had many "appointments" with Gov. Spitzer in many cities, while it was a mere one night stand with "Kristin" who got all the publicity.Here we see the first of several, perhaps unavoidable, flaws in the documentary: reliance on weak sources whose statements cannot be independently verified. As no one is talking, not the FBI, the federal prosecutors nor Spitzer himself, you cannot know if "Angelina" is making the whole story up. However, her account does not defame the ex-Governor, paint him as sexually perverted or even ungentlemanly. She also voices harsh skepticism of "Kristin" and other girls in the life who claim victimhood currently or in the past.The format is the standard Talking Heads with some news footage thrown in. Documentarian Gibney cannot resist resorting to lurid shots of scantily dressed women and a hip hop soundtrack when exploring the half-world of high end prostitution. Guess he felt he needed to sex it up in order to sell the film but to me this seemed cheap and frivolous.With its evident bias in favor of its subject, the film mentions only in passing how Elliott Spitzer's own self-righteousness and abrasive behavior during his year as Governor may have left him without a friend in Albany when he badly needed friends. Admittedly, the State capital was a sinkhole of corruption and waste, but Spitzer's demeanor, like Christ come to cleanse the Temple, was probably the wrong way to go about reforming it.There is an ample cast of villains -- though why these agreed to be interviewed for this documentary remains a mystery -- including former chairman and c.e.o. of insurance giant A.I.G., Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, Joseph Bruno, former Majority Leader of the New York State Senate (later convicted on federal corruption charges) and even a few words from Wall Street mega-millionaires Ralph Langone and Richard Grasso, bitter and powerful enemies from when Spitzer as Attorney General tried to rein in their insatiable GREED.The film implies that the current fiscal crisis might have been averted had former Sheriff of Wall Street Spitzer remained in the Governor's mansion. This is doubtful, as doubtful as the claim by Hank Greenberg that A.I.G. would be a solvent company today instead of in federal receivership had he not been kicked out by his own board of directors following revelations by Attorney General Spitzer of accounting irregularities. The abuses Spitzer went after, such as executive compensation and price fixing, were not what caused the fiscal crisis of 2008. That was a result of risky loans and overvalued real estate which, ironically, was what the Spitzer family money was based on.The ex-governor is shown to be repentant, chastened, fit to return to public service even if the White House now is out of reach. His vices, the documentary seems to say, are only those natural to a man. That Eliot Spitzer can be arraigned for hypocrisy, having himself prosecuted prostitution rings, gets perhaps twenty words in the whole film.

merrywood Eliot Spitzer is a marvelous human being. He is exceptionally brilliant, literate, intellectual, and on the side of light. What he is not, according to the known record and this documentary, an exceptional piece of filmmaking, is a great chess player. In 2006, he began to associate with a "call girl ring", a term that, for me, currently, feels and sounds ludicrous. The idea that consensual sex between adults is still illegal, even as a trade, in this day of comparative enlightenment is to me rather bizarre. A man who "cheats on his wife" --- This is no one's business since the relationship and contract is with his wife and not the public.Before becoming Governor of New York, Spitzer had taken on Wall Street and The Dark Side, and did it with such success and gusto that only Alfred E. Newman could not have known that the Dark Side would not begin to gather around a knife sharpening ceremony. The Dark Side used our basic American hang-up and continuous obsession with sex against Spitzer because they could. Indeed, I agree with the Governor that he is fundamentally to blame, after all, it was Spitzer who created this vulnerability. Ultimately, however, it was our immaturity as people obsessed with sex and infidelity that has probably ended Spitzer's sure climb to the presidency. We have all placed that nonsense over every good, productive and constructive thing the man had ever done and he did it for us, the public.

honyltd They say life is stranger than fiction, and no place is that more evident than in New York City, the greed capital of the World.New York City, as one who has just left after 14 years may be a great place to visit, but you would never want to live there. For those who walked out of "The Matrix", when it was cutting edge and told a story of a world where people lived in a fiction, and couldn't distinguish reality, it seemed a mere conceit, a great means of storytelling. For those of us who have never lost our objectivity, which means we came to NYC with minds open, impervious to the assault on logic and normality that makes this city the real life Matrix, this Morality tale in which a well-intentioned and flawed man is run out of town by the bankers and the money marketeers, is business as usual.And make no mistake about that that. New York City is a corporate state and corporate town. It is Corporate Central, and if you think the people that wreaked havoc with the average American with AIG , which is New York based, and the home of greed and financial control by CORPORATISTS, will shuffle off gently into that good night, then you don't understand corporate politics.It is difficult to look at a calendar and note it is 2010, not 1692. You would think the sexual peccadilloes of a government official, compared to lying to the public, or initiating a war to benefit the Corporate elite, would pale in comparison, but this movie makes it clear that Wall Street , the true power of this Country, will not be muted or restrained or bullied by any person with the integrity to conduct that fight. Eliot Spitzer isn't Michael Moore, but he did crack down on those who were extracting money from the middle class, and tried to stop the power elite.For the most part I think Spitzer was 80% candid, which is more than enough to understand him in complete context. More clear were his adversaries, and the political gain they would receive by removing this pesky governor who was raining on the usual business as usual Wall Street Way.Unless you are some sort of theological hypocrite, this movie frames clearly the singular unimportance of and sexcapades that have existed in politics as far back as Washington, documented with Lincoln, and certainly contemporaries in FDR, JFK, and Clinton. I don't care what my elected officials do in the bedroom, and think the hypocrisy of the rabid right is on full display here, with their almost laughable preoccupation with legislating morality, all the while being the true authors of wars, pain, and misery, and looking to take down anyone or thing which threatens their domination and control. In that sense, this movie is a cautionary, once again, in which an inspired documentary maker tries to get the public to look beyond the facts as Fox would report it, and THINK about the MOTIVES of the people who were so intent on bringing this person down.Why is this important? People need to regain their equilibrium and see the reality hiding in plain site. Wake up before you're just like the New Yorkers who see no problem with paying $2800 for a one bedroom apartment, on a street with no trees, $3.50 for a thimble of orange juice, and believe it is normal. I think having lived there, and come back from Oz, this story is a sad one, not only because it shows the strength of corporate power, but the idiocy of a manipulated and malleable people, who are but lambs and sheep to be led to slaughter.Wake up everyone, especially New Yorkers.

hjart6 The title of this documentary pretty much explains what it is all about. It sums up the story of how Eliot Spitzer, governor of New York (2007-2008), went from fighting the corruption on Wall Street to resigning after the embarrassing media scandal that took place when Spitzer was revealed to have been using an escort service.The documentary goes back and forth in time while interviewing earlier colleagues, sworn enemies, people from the escort business, and of course: Eliot Spitzer. Who all contribute with interesting interviews that are often enlightening in covering the story from more than one angle.Client 9 is an entertaining documentary that rarely neglects the necessity of the cinematic aspect of filmmaking. In fact it is filled with interesting shots of the city, and manages to capture the passion of its subject as well as it reveals his faults. This documentary is also sure to entertain those who barely know who Eliot Spitzer is, as it takes on a number of heated issues that are sometimes explored philosophically. It also tells the tale of a politician, fighting for what he believes is right and what he has to deal with as a consequence, while not being devoid of the occasional laugh.