A literary agent introduced by a family friend liked the idea and got Jarecki a $50,000 advance from Doubleday to write the 2001 book Breaking In: How 20 Film Directors Got Their Start.
[9] In the same year he served as an executive producer for The Informers[10] which he co-wrote with novelist Bret Easton Ellis (whose novel the film was based on) and was even set to direct it at one point.
[17] Arbitrage was praised by critics receiving an 87% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the top 20 reviewed films of the year.
It won a number of awards including the National Board of Review for "Top 10 Independent Films", as well as a Golden Globe nomination for "Best Actor – Drama" for its star, Richard Gere.
[20] It was announced in October 2012 that his next film would be Fuel, "a detective story set in Los Angeles amid a futuristic world of electric vehicles and alternative energy.
"[21] In 2019, Jarecki directed, wrote, and produced the multi-narrative film about the opioid epidemic, Crisis, starring Gary Oldman, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly, Armie Hammer, Michelle Rodriguez, Veronica Ferres, Mia Kirshner, Greg Kinnear and Lily-Rose Depp.