Drama is abundant in the world of business: Trade secrets, corporate espionage, deception… just to secure the custom of a client, just to do it all over again. It makes sense that so many of the greats of television, theatre, and film, have settings in tall corporate skylines, lavish apartments that hardly looked lived in and young, ambitious up-and-comers enjoying the glittering excesses that come from (and is needed to stomach) all this success. Today’s film covers just that, combining back-room negotiations, intrigue, espionage and death in 2016’s Misconduct.

When up-and-coming lawyer Ben Cahill of a successful law firm, meets up with his allegedly crazy ex-girlfriend, he’s surprised to learn that she is head of sales for a powerful pharmaceutical firm, Denning, they have found themselves in legal hot water over incidents with their drug testing. She also happens to be dating the boss who may have had a hand in falsifying the data. With the help of some leaked memos, Cahill is keen to land this case and sue them. But once he gets involved soon realises that this case may lead to nothing more than death on the docket.

Misconduct from the get-go establishes a lot of plot points and manages to weave elegantly between the multiple plot threads and loops especially at the start. It can be ambitious enough that at some points it starts to feel disorientating, but like a good mystery you are given enough puzzle pieces to put together a nice picture at the end. For those who find them enjoyable, It’s a complex network of intrigue and corruption that is just a wonder to both behold and watch unfold.

The film is well acted, managing to draw in the likes of Al Pachino (with a delightfully strong Louisianan accent). The Silk Spector is back, but trading the Lycra and leather for evening dresses and ulterior motives, and Anthony Hopkins returns to the big screen after playing another C.E.O. of an all-powerful company in Westworld. These veterans combined for the first time work well together. And with locations of night-clubs and amber-ish lit law rooms showcases debut director Shintaro Shimosawa potential.

Misconduct is a sleek thriller, reminiscent of the steamy thrillers of the early 90s, with ample star power to bring the tale to life. A drama that is steeped in the heady _, harrowing assassinations and copious amounts of both law and disorder, this is all to be expected with a name like Misconduct, but as its title suggests, it shows you how much fun you can have if you walk on the wild side.

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