Wall Street
(1987)
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Oliver Stone opened fire on the greed decade of the 1980s with this morality tale set on Wall Street. The film stars Charlie Sheen as Bud Fox, an ambitious rookie stockbroker from a blue-collar background who is magnetised by Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), a Mephistophelean superbroker who specialises in corporate takeovers. Despite his initial resistance to Bud's entreaties, Gekko finally takes on the eager beaver as his protege, schooling him in the kind of slash-and-burn maneuvers that have taken him to the top. This style is far more attractive to Bud than the more prosaic but principled approach to investing preached by veteran Lou Mannheim (Hal Holbrook). And, at first, it's impossible to dispute his preference; as Bud's life moves into the fast lane, he quickly acquires an upscale apartment and girlfiend, interior designer Darien (Darryl Hannah). But when Gekko demands that Bud not only break the law but directly undermine his union leader father, Carl (Martin Sheen), and jeopardise the jobs and lives of his friends and family, he realises that the cost of success might be more than he's willing to pay. WALL STREET is a riveting, testosterone-fueled tour of the Street's upper echelons, featuring standout performances by Douglas and Martin Sheen. |
Oliver Stone opted for a change of direction following the Oscar-winning success of his Vietnam War drama Platoon with this stylish morality tale about insider trading — a topical subject at the time. Charlie Sheen gives a believable performance as the gullible broker who's prepared to break the law in pursuit of riches, and he's matched by his father Martin (also playing his screen father) as the blue-collar union representative who takes a dim view of his son's wheeler-dealing. Stealing the show, however, is Oscar winner Michael Douglas, who is memorable as ruthless corporate raider Gordon Gekko. Unusually, Stone's trademark neurotic camera movements actually seem appropriate here as the film details the titanic struggle for good over greed.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Almost documentary in its detailed account of financial skulduggery but slipping ultimately into sentimentality, the film is marked by a brilliant performance from Michael Douglas as the scheming megalomaniac Gordon Gekko.