Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Review
15:24:00
Hello My Lovely's,
So a couple of weeks ago I got sent by Fox entertainment a
number of films. These included
• Planet of the Apes
(1968)
• This Means War
• Black Swan
And the film I am
reviewing today 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps'. All of the others have been
reviewed previously on my blog, so just look below for them :)
However today I am here to blog about 'Wall Street: Money
Never Sleeps'. This film was very interesting in the way it captured the heart
of the Wall Street downfall in 2010, just two years after society had seen a
breakdown in their economy.
I hadn't seen the original 'Wall Street' until before I
watched this film and I didn't think it was very good as it didn't show enough
depth into the harsh world of money but more the looks of the filthy rich men
around them. I know many people would say that this is also seen in this film
but I thought this had a lot stronger dimensions to it and a strong backbone
when it came to character portrayals.
Directed by Oliver Stone , the legendary director of the 1987 original 'Wall Street, the film, a sequel to the original,
focuses on the life of Jacob Moore played by 'Transformers' star Shia LaBeouf,
who aspires to be like the world famous Wall Street money man Gordon Gekko, a
role reprised by Michael Douglas from the 80's original. Jacob wants to be able
to control and build his own empire after the systems downfall.
However outside influences keep him from his dreams, as his
girlfriend Winnie played by Carey Mulligan, tries to prevent him from going
down the same route as her father. ‘Gekko’ however wants to rebuild his
relationship with his daughter after she believes he is the cause of her brother’s
death and sees his relationship with Jacob as an advantage at getting what he
wants.
Jacob is very conflicted throughout with both relationships
as he tries to build the ideal world around him, although as soon as he manages
to get something right something else goes wrong.
Each relationship within the film becomes more and more
troubling throughout, with many twists and turns along the way. This made the
film a lot more edgier then I believed it was going to be like as I imagined a
very masculine world with big business like men who believe they own Wall
Street. I know that many could argue that actually that is the case but for me
the women in the film are very empowering figures.
Mulligan's Winnie is able to bring her power into her role
as she makes the men follow her rules and believe what she says, especially
with her relationship with her father as she makes him suffer for what she
believes that he has done. As well she is able to express a woman who isn't
afraid of the men around her but more of the fact that money will ruin them and
so she makes her own to protect herself and not use her fathers or Jacob's.
Michael Douglas' return to the role was an important moment
in the film. He was able to convince myself and probably other audience members
into thinking he was a changed man as he was a lot more likeably in this film
then he was in the original film. The role he presents is such an indecisive
one that it becomes slightly impossible to actually choose if he is better or
not.
I thought it was a very interesting role to place the actor
Shia LaBeouf in as his background is very different to the act that he is
playing here. This film was made before the film 'Lawless' which equally
displays a different type of character yet he is able to express one of the
best characters I have seen in a long time. It is sad that at the moment his
talent seems to be wasted as he is a true spark in this film and if I had seen
this without knowing his background I would of believed him to be a strong contender
for other serious roles.
Stone's cinematography is one of the most interesting
aspects of this film however, as the different techniques he uses to display
the downfalls of each economy is fascinating. I loved the London downfall of
the economy matching the skyline of the famous London landmarks and how ironic
it was that when it reached the bottom it sunk into the River Thames.
I also loved the lighting on the New York movements. The
bright lights of the city reflected the dark nights of the most conflicting
moments for some of the characters especially Winnie, who whenever was on
screen it was always dark, suggesting her past and her future are just
repeating themselves.
Overall the film was very good and I enjoyed it more than I
thought I was going to. I loved the different dynamic characters on screen and
Stone as a director is again a strong contender for the film industry’s top
films.
I am giving this film...
3/4 Stars
Until Next Time...
Joey xxx
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