“Wall Street” (1987) by Oliver Stone Essay (Movie Review)

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Introduction

The movie Wall Street is basically the story of Bud Fox who wants to be in business with Gekko, but there is a difficult journey of achieving his mission that prompts him to look for a shortcut. He is advised against his intentions of taking a shortcut by his father and a leader of a union by the name Lou Mannheim. Lou is an experienced broker whose ethics are regarded as ruthless. Bud manages to use insider information he gets from the conversation with his father that brings him success.

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He finds himself on the verge of success since there is an imminent chance of succeeding should he take up the challenge and do what should be done. He arranges a meeting with an internal designer known as Darien at the house of Gekko. For Darien, the confidence and determination that is portrayed by Bud is just amazing although it is evident that what interests her about him is not the person but the position. What he lacks is only his father’s respect whose perception is influenced by Gekko and is concerned about the bargain bud makes with Lucifer.

Review of the Movie

Analyzing the movie from a plot point of view, Wall Street is an ordinary movie. The movie brings together two stories whose time of existence is honored, the fall of man in the Garden of Eden and the lost chance of Adam to earn redemption. In the movie, Gekko represents the serpent while Bud is the naĂŻve and innocent human being who decides to taste the forbidden fruit.

The splendor associated with paradise however seems to vanish when one gets there. The third final episode of the movie presents Bud as he acknowledges the sins he has committed and how he tries to find the right way. The end of the movie concludes the story of Bud but where Gekko is involved, a resolution is never reached (IMDB 3).

Wall Street movie is credited for achieving theatrical distribution in the right time. The screenplay of the movie was written in 1986 and filmed towards the end of 1986 and the first months of 1987. This work was done during a period when there were remarkable stock market revolutions. It was a revolution that caused owners of shops in china to close their businesses while the city leaders prevented people from entering Pamplona.

As Black Monday made its debut, the work on Wall Street was already complete and ready for circulation. The crash of Dow Jones made known to people who were involved in the business of stocks the abuses that were reflected in the movie Wall Street. Although by the time the movie was shown on the stages the market had significantly recovered, the effects were still there to be seen.

The screenplay of the Wall Street movie follows the ancient pattern of three acts. An energetic young man by the name Bud has great aspirations since he wants to work with Gekko, also known as Michael Douglas. Gekko intervenes in Bud’s journey to work with him and even when he is not willing to agree with him, he remains honest with him. Bud attempts to schedule a meeting with Gekko but Gekko does not seem receptive to his requests. Gekko does not value what Bud wants to do because he is a small broker working for a research firm.

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Eventually, Bud gets a chance to meet Gekko after he identifies his birthday which is the first insider information he gets. After this first success, what Bud needs to do is to impress Gekko when they meet by employing the insider information he gets from a union leader and his father. Bud is armed with enough information to meet Gekko and he begins the plans.

Although the whole system is based on games and guess work, Bud attains success within a short period of time and Gekko considers him a protégé. He looks at him as a smart player and wonders why gambling is never legalized if at all it amounts to quick success. In the third act of the movie, Bud enquires from Gekko the amount of money that should be regarded as enough money. He argues that with millions of money available, there is no need to look for more money. Gekko spends the money on expensive art equipment but to him this is a form of a business (IMDB 3).

Bud comes from a working class family since his father is a mechanic and leads a union. Since he is desperate to do something that impresses Gekko, he decides to reveal some inside information derived from his father. This works when Gekko earns some money out of the deal and agrees to open an account with Bud. In addition, he requests him to look for additional secret information concerning the competitors in the market. However, Bud does not consider what Gekko requests of him legal.

The movie Wall Street criticizes the capitalism oriented way of trading and came at a time when the financial community was exposed to risks. The movie presents a message that majority of small investors are easily deceived leaving people like Gekko to reap all the benefits. They seize entire companies from their stockholders and make huge profits.

The acts of people like Gekko are not legal but their defiance on the law gives them a chance to walk away with their crimes. The structure of the movie is traditional where the anxious young man wants to impress the older one. However, the young man is eventually betrayed by the older man and starts looking for ways of changing everything. A detailed explanation of the plot may be ignored but the most important aspect is how the characters change. Most movies do not present characters who can march the convincing capacity and callousness of Gekko.

Stone succeeds in bringing out a complicated and sensible financial deal. It is easy to follow the movie since stock manipulation is presented in a clear manner through the greed of the characters. Throughout the episodes of the movie, it is easy to find out what goes on. Despite the fact that many people would not approve lack of respect for law that is portrayed by Gekko, it is true that he presents an admirable system of values. The tricky concept presented in the movie is that of earning a lot of money without being on the wrong side of the law. What drives Gekko is his desire to make a deal with Bud and emerge the winner (IMDB 4).

The movie successfully manages to capture the attention of the audience to share in the scheme and prevents them from easily perceiving the uncertainties in the movie until Bud becomes a victim of the tricks advanced by Gekko. The system that Bud falls a victim of has been in existence and many people continue to fall victims. The most intriguing aspect of the movie is that the targeted group is not even the street criminals who are the known lawbreakers. Stone intends to educate the people on a value system whose most important target is creating wealth.

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The movie castigates the competitiveness in the financial sector which does not value ethics. Wall Street is as entertaining as it is scaring since it presents the real world that people live in and the actual ways through which they fall victims of situations that surround them. Stone appeals to the audience to see the dangers portended in such schemes. He presents this message through the story of a young Bud and how he is eventually betrayed due to his love for quick success.

Conclusion

Stone presents this Movie with the aim of educating the ignorant people who never consider simple things. The movie is full of corrupt dealings and scandals with issues of legality rarely being disscussed. As the movie ends, the causes and effects are analyzed but the places where this kind of business takes place does not allow a solution for the criminal activities to be achieved.

The criminality of the business does not involve any theft cases or deaths but only exchange of information at work. Gekko comes out as a clever person who makes the audience appreciate him rather than condemn him. Although he seems to be a clever person, Stone passes an important message to the audience since this is how the criminal system works. In the end, big companies suffer losses and workers lose their jobs and this serves as a starting point of bigger crimes.

Works Cited

Wall Street Movie. Dir. Oliver Stone. Twentieth Century Fox, 1987. Film

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IvyPanda. (2022) '"Wall Street" (1987) by Oliver Stone'. 15 June.

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IvyPanda. 2022. ""Wall Street" (1987) by Oliver Stone." June 15, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/wall-street-by-oliver-stone-film-analysis/.

1. IvyPanda. ""Wall Street" (1987) by Oliver Stone." June 15, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/wall-street-by-oliver-stone-film-analysis/.


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IvyPanda. ""Wall Street" (1987) by Oliver Stone." June 15, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/wall-street-by-oliver-stone-film-analysis/.

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