Wall StreetReleased: December 11, 1987
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Starring: Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, & Martin Sheen
Plot in a Nutshell:
A young stockbroker gets into leagues with a corrupt corporate investor, and finds his morality questioned as his success pays off.
What I thought:
I know nothing about big financial investing, absolutely nothing. I start thinking about investing, and stocks and I give myself a headache. But there are plenty of people who play in these waters every day. These people either perform very well, and see their investments multiply exponentially, or they drown. This film is a great depiction of absolute greed, what it does to people, and how it doesn't always pay to play dirty.
As I stated, I know nothing of wall street and investing. So it is a great compliment to the film that I was able to always follow what was happening and who was doing what, when I should have been completely lost in the numbers. Oliver Stone is able to portray this world and its inhabitants effortlessly. The world of finance and investing really does come to light in a way you never have seen it before.
Gordon Gekko (Douglas) is the money hungry corporate investor who takes the young inexperienced stockbroker, Bud Fox (C. Sheen), under his wing. He teaches him how things really work, and how to get "information" from people who are covering their financial tracks. It takes Bud a few scenes to get under Gekko's good graces, but eventually he does when an insider tip procured from his union-leader father (M. Sheen) leads to quite a lucrative stock buy. Gordon Gekko is a pure sleazeball depiction of power and greed. He paces his office, making deals over the phone and through his investors, firing his mouth at 500 rounds a minute. He never slows down, never backs away, and is ruthless in his decisions. It is all about money and how to manipulate the system to get it. Michael Douglas does a great job at bringing this powerful figure to life. He is charming when he needs to be and a total blood hungry shark when crossed. But always he is portrayed as a man who cares about only one thing: Money.
The film revolves around greed. Everybody is touched by it. Bud Fox is greedy for success and once the money starts rolling, he finds his moral decisions becoming more and more compromised. It isn't until Gekko betrays his trust that he begins to see the corruption. Gekko on the other hand is a pure 100% homegrown powerful greedy incarnation. He even speaks to a group of investors in a company that he plans to take over, that "Greed is good." In this speech, he is justifying his incredibly destructive acts as something that is necessary, and dammit if he doesn't convince you, "Greed is Good," or at least vital. But then the next second you find yourself asking, "What just happened?"
I found myself enjoying the film as it played on, if not for anything else than to just see a world I never really saw before. My entire experience with investing and the New York Stock Exchange is entirely derived from what I see on CNN and what I've learned in class. So I found it incredibly fascinating to see this financial environment explored in film. And from what I've read, they nailed the feel and tone of that business, and that is no small task. Everything else about the film is executed with great skill. It is a very well made film, with strong performances from the leads. Some of the other minor characters can however be a bit of a wash.Bottom Line:
An interesting look at the world of big business investing, and the dangers of getting too greedy.
B
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