AllMovie

Risk/Reward is a mildly interesting examination of four women in a male-dominated workplace that doesn't go far enough in exploring what these women do in the context of a global economy. Certainly, the four women have interesting stories to tell, and there's narrative interest generated by their career decisions. Louise Jones, in particular, has led a fascinating life, and offers exemplifies the kind of personal background that can drive a person into such a competitive career. Glimpses of the other women's home lives also offer some insight into the choices their forced to make to succeed in their field. But for the most part, the film doesn't delve too far beneath the surface of things. Typically, the impact of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, which occurred during filming, is elided to a baffling extent. It's understandable that filmmakers Elizabeth Holder and Xan Parker didn't want that cataclysmic event to overwhelm the relatively modest focus of their film, but it's incomprehensible that only one of the four women, Jones, who lived across the street from the World Trade Center, directly mentions the attacks and any impact they might have had on her life. This is symptomatic of the larger problem of the film. Risk/Reward is more of a puff piece, and less incisive and edifying, than it needs to be.