The documentary Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010) is a fascinating portrayal of the former New York governor and his downfall. The movie follows Spitzer’s fast rise from a state attorney general heralded as “the sheriff of Wall Street” through his presidential aspirations to his even faster fall following the discovery of his use of prostitutes.
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, directed by Alex Gibney and now available on Blu-ray and DVD
The story of a powerful man who falls has been around for ages. In a famous quote from the Bible, Jesus asked a question that one might recall while watching Client 9: “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” The movie reveals that the beam in Spitzer’s eye included his hubris and pride, which led him to make numerous enemies and few trusted friends. While Spitzer admits he caused his own descent, and that is true, his downfall is much more complicated. Some of the people who had past run-ins with Spitzer — including legislators and those he prosecuted as Attorney General — played interesting roles in the drama.
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer does not let Spitzer off the hook, but it also portrays the man and the scandal in its complexity. Spitzer, who now has his own television show on CNN and who may eventually return to politics to run for mayor of New York City, was one of the first leaders to reveal the problems on Wall Street that later led to the most recent recession. But he lacked empathy in his encounters with other people. He was a man who was driven to reform government because he saw the flaws in others, but who then fell because he could not see the flaws in himself.
Has Spitzer learned from his mistakes and become more humble? What do you think? Leave a comment?
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