Pacing is excellent, especially during the last half-hour as the story builds to its climax. There's a lot of dry humor, a fair amount of tension, and numerous subtle-yet-pointed jabs at a "game" that rewards the losers with $23 million (after taxes).
It's a credit to the production team that they're able to do so much with this movie. Most of us are used to looking in from the outside on these high-profile financial struggles īarbarians at the Gate presents an insider's perspective - and not just any insider, but that of the man at the top. The film offers a different point-of-view on leveraged buyouts and other such mega-buck dealings. This story of high stakes, betrayal, and one-upsmanship is told with undeniable flair, using a lighthearted, occasionally playful, tone. There are exceptions, of course, but not many.įor that reason, in a year when there have been three too many Amy Fisher movies on the small screen, it's refreshing to come upon something with the intelligence, wit, and general high quality of Barbarians at the Gate. Low production values, shoddy direction, and poor acting abound. In general, the quality of most made-for-TV movies is abysmal. Of greater interest, however, is the power struggle that develops between Johnson and Wall Street investment banker Henry Kravis (Jonathan Pryce), who intends to force Johnson out and take over RJR Nabisco on his own. Ross Johnson (James Garner) attempts to buy out his own company.
"Barbarians at the Gate, a made-for-HBO movie, recounts the events surrounding the biggest leveraged buyout in history, that of RJR Nabisco in 1988.īased on the bestseller of the same name, this film presents in some detail the process by which RJR Nabisco's CEO F. MPAA Classification: NR (Language, brief nudity)
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