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Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

Director:
Oliver Stone
COUNTRY
USA
GENRE
Drama/Thriller
NORWEGIAN TITLE
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
RUNNING TIME
127 minutes
Producer:
Edward R. Pressman
Eric Kopeloff
Screenwriter:
Allan Loeb
Stephen Schiff


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Gordon Gekko Michael Douglas ½
Jake Moore Shia LaBeouf
Bretton James Josh Brolin
Winnie Gekko Carey Mulligan
Jules Steinhardt Eli Wallach
Jake's Mother Susan Sarandon ½
Louis Zabel Frank Langella
Dr. Masters Austin Pendelton
Treasury Secretary John Bedford Lloyd
Audrey Vanessa Ferlito
Bud Fox Charlie Sheen

 

Review

Drawing on the memory of the 1987-version, in which Oliver Stone scrutinized the yuppie culture rather successfully, this sequel looks and feels good early on as we meet Michael Douglas' devilishly good looking 2010 version of Gordon Gekko and get to know a young couple and their contrary connection to Wall Street and the money business. Carey Mulligan plays Gekkos estranged daughter, Shia LaBeouf her boyfriend and an up-and-coming investor for Keller Zabel, an investment bank helmed by his mentor Lewis Zabel, played with brilliance and incredible devotion by Frank Langella. Up until this point, Stone keeps interest and relevance up, combining flashy directional effects with a comment on the 2008 financial crisis. And as Douglas and LeBeouf gets in touch, things look promising both when it comes to story and suspense, but it doesn’t take too long to realize that the film's main plot setup is far to forced and constructed to be able to work on a plausible level. And when the construction starts to wobble, our attention is increasingly drawn to the fact that the foundation doesn't hold ground. The Mulligan/LaBeouf relationship is unconvincing, the conclusion ridiculous, and Stone ultimately loses track of what his film is really about. An unnecessary cameo by the previously brilliant Eli Wallach, now too old and out of his depth, is one of many destructive details.

 

Copyright © 13.10.2010 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

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