“Wallstreet: Money Never Sleeps”
By: Mila Pantovich
Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 133 min.
Dir: Oliver Stone
Writers: Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff
Genre: Drama
When Oliver Stone released “Wallstreet” in 1987, he introduced a film about stock markets that functioned very much like a political thriller. Now, 23 years later, Stone has released the long-awaited sequel, “Wallstreet: Money Never Sleeps.” Like “Wallstreet,” Stone places the sequel firmly in the middle of an economic crisis and uses the panic and confusion felt in the industry to give the story an edge that is personally felt, if only slightly understood, by many Americans. With visuals of stocks plummeting in a business that depends upon greed and dishonesty, Stone uses the story of a broken family as the backbone and heart of the film. .
“Wallstreet: Money Never Sleeps” presents the economy as a series of fast-paced split screens, showing the rapid rise and fall of companies through cheesy animation and diagrams. Filming stock traders as if they are mobsters, Oliver Stone gives a sense of foreboding to board meetings filled with arrogant young traders who continue thinking they’re in control of the rapidly declining market. Stone, himself, has a small cameo as a trader and Charlie Sheen returns as a retired Bud Fox in an incredibly self-important cameo that is unnecessary and forced. With the cold world of Wall Street as the setting, Stone attempts to bring a heart to the film through the possibility of redemption and forgiveness for a decaying family. Carey Mulligan shines in a fairly flat role as an emotionally bruised daughter. In a scene with Michael Douglas, Mulligan’s face is fascinating as she tries to keep herself from crying in front of the father she wishes she didn’t love. While the cast is impressive, including the always excellent Susan Sarandon as Jake’s mother, the film itself has a hard time measuring up. What it fails to do is get to the core of Gekko’s character, watering down his manipulative cutthroat nature with an often strained sentimentality. The ending is rushed and ill-fitting of the film’s overall message of the irrevocable corruption of money, quickly tying up loose ends in a way that seems dismissive of its initial purpose. Oliver Stone, very purposefully portraying Wall Street as a capitalist infection, backs off and turns to sentimentality when he should have turned back to the brutality of the board room.
“The Town”
Rated: R
Run Time: 124 min.
Dir: Ben Affleck
Writers: Peter Craig, Ben Affleck, Aaron Stockard
Genre: Crime/Thriller/Drama
Adapted: “Prince of Thieves” by Chuck Hogan
Taking place in Charlestown, Boston, where crime is heavier than in any other American state, “The Town” is an incredibly well-acted crime drama that focuses on the choices people make when they are confronted with an opportunity to change their lives. With Ben Affleck as director, this film takes time to develop its characters, giving ample opportunity for each actor to make a specific and lasting mark on the screen. Playing with the dynamics of sound, flashbacks, and tension, Affleck proves that moving behind the camera has been the smartest move that he has ever made for his burgeoning career as a filmmaker.
Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is a former local hockey star who ended up falling into the same bank robbery lifestyle that put his father (Chris Cooper) in prison. Wearing dreadlocked skeleton masks, Doug and a team of men, including Doug’s lifelong friend, James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), violently hold up a bank full of terrified people. Among the terrified is the bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall), who James decides to take as a hostage for assurance in case they are interrupted by the police during their escape. The rest of the film follows the enduring emotional resonance that the bank heist has on the town of Charlestown. Under the initial guise of following Claire to insure that she does not know any incriminating evidence to divulge to the FBI, Doug unexpectedly finds himself falling in love with her. While being pursued by FBI Special Agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm) and coming to terms with his position in the bank robbery lifestyle, Doug must find a way out of crime so that he can start his life over. Of course, just when he thinks he may get out, one last great heist at Fenway Park threatens his plans for freedom.
The plot of “The Town” is conventional and from the first scene follows along the expected path. However, where the film truly shines is the stellar acting amongst the ensemble cast, giving multiple facets to the characters. Playing Doug’s father, Chris Cooper appears in just one very short scene and makes such an emotional impact with his performance that even Doug is stunned into silence by its strength. Jeremy Renner gives a volatile unpredictability to James, the friend who doesn’t need a reason to beat a person near to death. Instead of playing the character one-dimensionally, Renner lends James a surprising vulnerability seen in his fierce loyalty and love for Doug. Jon Hamm as FBI agent Adam Frawley also makes his memorable mark on the film, playing an agent who may just be as psychologically dangerous as the criminals he pursues. Another notable performance belongs to Pete Postlethwaite (“Inception”), playing the quietly intimidating crime boss who orchestrates the heists and the lives of those in his employ.
Filmed on location in Boston, Ben Affleck seems to make all the right choices in “The Town.” His creation of tension, not only within the heist scenes but within the dialogue, keeps the audience excited about a plot that they have more than likely seen many times before. While Affleck may be a weak point in the film in terms of his character being outshone, he certainly makes up for it by insuring the rest of the cast makes lasting impressions without stepping upon one another’s performances. The promise that Affleck reflected in his 2007 directorial debut “Gone Baby Gone” is completely confirmed and reinforced in “The Town,” proving that his talent as a filmmaker is ever evolving, showing no signs of slowing down.