Summary
The fascinating documentary "Client 9" has all the qualities of a Hollywood thriller: money, sex, and the destructive power of unbridled hubris. Eliot Spitzer had a meteoric rise as the aggressively progressive attorney general of New York State, gaining headlines and popularity for pursuing white-collar crime involving some astoundingly wealthy people and imposing regulatory reform on Wall Street. His success led him to become governor of New York--where his dictatorial style rubbed other politicians the wrong way. Could the enemies he made in the business and political worlds have had anything to do with the revelations that Spitzer patronized the Emperors Club VIP, a high-priced prostitution ring? "Client 9" praises Spitzer's substantial achievements but doesn't turn a blind eye to his weaknesses and failures. The interviews--with Spitzer's enemies, escorts he'd hired, Emperors Club employees, and Spitzer himself--create a complex portrait of Spitzer and his career, as well as spinning out the suspense as revelations and investigations lead to catastrophe. However dubious Spitzer's moral juggling may have been, in the wake of the financial crisis, his Wall Street reforms--most of which were dismantled after his fall--now seem not merely prudent, but practically psychic. An engaging and illuminating movie. "--Bret Fetzer"