Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps (2010)

Director: Oliver Stone
Writers: Bryan Burrough, Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff

The original Wall Street came out in 1987 to much critical acclaim and popularity, and, ironically, a hefty box office taking. Its original characters inspired a generation to become stockbrokers, whilst warding the then current generation to rethink their plans for corporate espionage. Twenty-three years later, a sequel is produced.

A reformed Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) is released from prison after serving his sentence for playing the stock market. He attempts to reconcile with his daughter Winnie (the charming as ever Carrie Mulligan) by gaining the trust of her new fiancé, an aspiring young stockbroker Jake (Shia LaBeouf). In exchange, Gekko helps Jake seek revenge on the man responsible for his mentor’s death.

Like the first film, Wall Street – Money Never Sleep is jargon-heavy. Perhaps the film would be easier to understand if one had a greater knowledge of the American Financial System. As such, the fast-flowing terminology spewed about becomes increasingly difficult to comprehend. The significance and repercussions of the actions are therefore lessened, leaving only the basic impression of who is good and who is bad, and who has cut whose throat.

One wonders how much of the film is true. Although based on reality and the Global Financial Crisis, a lot of fiction is obviously interwoven throughout. How many of the people and companies are “real”? Does knowing the answer to that question lessen the impact of the events surrounding that person or company, due to a previous foresight?

Those who remember the original Wall Street would remember Gordon Gekko and his cunning, cutthroat deceptions, and devious plots. Portrayed expertly by Michael Douglas, his husky voice might seem innocent, but it somehow exudes ulterior motives. His love of greed is second to none, he only looks out for himself, and everyone else can burn before he does, which is why it’s strange seeing him so submissive, signing books and doing group speeches. Long gone are his cunning schemes, as he makes claims of having reformed in prison. Why is that? He is undoubtedly the only reason the audience would pay money to see the film, yet it spends more than half the time focussing on characters other than Gordon Gekko. Gekko comes into his element in the last turn of the film, and this twist is a joy to watch, but it comes too late. One wonders what his plans would have been about getting to the top if his daughter hadn’t fallen in love with another Wall Street player, presenting him such a unique opportunity.

Shia LaBeouf’s character Jake represents the next generation’s Gordon Gekko. A prodigy, he has climbed his way up through the ranks of a powerful company to a position of power, until it is all taken away from him after the death of his mentor, replaced with his greed for revenge. But how much does he learn? At the end of the film he might have received a happy ending, but his morals remain the same and he has not been awakened by any epiphanies. His actions at the end would have been almost exactly the same as his actions in the beginning. He’ll just start all over again, much like Gekko. Jake’s journey is satisfying, but when his screen time is compared to the much more capable anti-hero Gekko, it feels a wasted opportunity.

The film experiments with all kinds of editing tricks, attempting split screens, shots within shots, and some more obscure techniques which only leaves the question of what were they thinking? These brief sequences seem random and sloppy, and only occur intermittently throughout the film, failing to form any cohesive style. A much better example is in 128 Hours, where the editing style is irreplaceable, complementary to the mood. One especially bizarre shot in which Jake is referred to as being a “fighter”, results in a transparent apparition of his deceased mentor fading into the empty space adjacent. This incredibly unsubtle link encroaches on parody. Similarly, a poorly animated virtual city covered with screens connected to television feeds represents the flow of data and information, but more resembles the technophobic 90’s imaginings of the interior of a computer, familiarised in children’s television series such as Reboot.

The main problem with Wall Street – Money Never Sleeps is that it itself is hypocritically greedy. When presented with two different plots – a cutthroat financial scam and a family drama – the film chooses both, creating something not quite as good as either. When the next dog-eat-dog political scandal breaks, the family’s incessant bickering gets in the way, and when the reuniting of a tragic romance seems imminent, the quick-shooting technical jargon becomes a hindrance. The film is simply trying to cater for too many audiences, which it adequately achieves, but the pacing is broken. The titular Money might have insomnia, but you’ll certainly nod off a few times.

3 / 5