The Physician at the Movies

The physician at the movies Peter E. Dans, MD Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps GekkoisbroughtdownbyFoxwho,afterheiscaughtdoing Starring Michel Douglas, Shia La Beouf, Josh Brolin, Carey insidertrading,saveshishidebywearingawiretoincriminate Mulligan, Eli Wallach. Gekko. Before being sent to prison, Gekko sequesters $100 Directed by Oliver Stone. Rated PG-13. Running time 133 millioninaSwissaccountinhischildren’snames. minutes. The sequel begins in October 2001 at Sing Sing, where Gekkoisreleasedafterhavingservedhiseight-yearsentence t’shardtobelievethattheoriginalWall Streetwasreleased forinsidertradingandsecuritiesfraud.Hereclaimshispos- twenty-threeyearsago.LikeThe Godfather,ithasachieved sessions, including an out-of-date cell phone and, when no IiconicstatuswithitsmemorableOscar-winningperformance oneistheretomeethim,hetakesacabbackto“thecity.”The byMichaelDouglasasGordonGekkoanditssignatureline sceneshiftsto2008withtwoGenXersinbedasthemorn- “Greedisgood.”Gekkoaccumulatesbillionsbyweddinghis ingnewscomesonthetelevision.ThewomanisGekko’ses- beliefthat“informationisthemostvaluablecommodity”with trangeddaughterWinnie,whoangrilyshutsofftheTVupon a philosophy based on the writings of the sixth-century-BC hearing that Gekko is back in the limelight promoting his Chinese warlord Sun Tzu. As Gekko tells his protégé Bud bookIs Greed Good?Winnieusedtovisitherfatherregularly Fox(CharlieSheen),“Idon’tjustthrowdartsataboard.Read inprisonuntilherbrotherdiedofadrugoverdosethatshe SunTzu’sThe Art of War.Everybattleiswonbeforeitisever blamed on her father. As seeming recompense for Gordon’s fought.” To Gekko, the game is “not about the money; it’s sins,shehasbecomeabloggerforananti-corporatewebsite, aboutthegamebetweenpeople.”Inshort,it’saboutwinning, Frozen Truth. Her live-in boyfriend, Jake Moore (Shia La orinthewordsofapopularphraseofthetime,“theone Beouf),insiststhatsheoughttohearabouthim,butshewants whodieswiththemosttoyswins.” noneofit.Jake,itturnsout,isanup-and-comingWallStreet Not surprisingly, the sales of The Art of War, traderwhose“savinggrace”ishischampioningofalternative whichisstillusedinwarcolleges,skyrocketedaf- energytechnologytosavetheplanet.Heisemployedbythe terthefilmasGekkowannabestriedtoabsorb firmKeller/Zabel(KZI),headedbyaone-timepowerfulfigure some of its lessons. In the original movie, LouisZabel(FrankLangella),towhomJakeisdevoted.Zabel Shia La Beouf in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. 20th Century-Fox/Photofest 42 The Pharos/Winter2011 dodgesJake’squestionsaboutrumorsthatKZIisonthebrink conceptof“moralhazard”—someonetakesyourmoneyand ofinsolvency,saying,“Arewegoingunder?That’sthewrong actsdifferentlywheninsulatedfromrisksthanhewouldifhe question.Whoisn’t?”HeendstheconversationbygivingJake werefullyresponsibleforlosses.Thecommentinthefilmis a$1.45millionbonus,tellinghimtoenjoyit.Jakeusespart thatitis“unethicalbutnotillegal.” ofittobuyWinnieanengagementring(althoughheknows Thoughlong,thefilmheldmyinterestthroughout.What she’sagainstmarriage)andtogooutpartying.Hedecidesto is particularly good about it is the acting, first by Douglas plowtherestintoKZIdespiteafriend’swarningthatthefirm, wholooksasold,tired,andsickasheisinreallife. Lookfor havingkeptsubprimemortgagetoxicdebtoffitsbooks,isin anotherBestActorOscar,possiblyposthumously. Nextisthe dangerofcollapse. outstandingsupportingcast.FrankLangellaisgreatasanold Enter Bretton James (Josh Brolin), the CEO of Churchill Lionbeingeatenalivebytheunscrupulousyoungsharkplayed Schwartz,afictionalfirmmeanttorepresentacombination byJoshBrolin.EliWallachisalsogreatasJulesSteinhardt,an- ofGoldmanSachsandJ.P.Morgan.Byrefusingtosupporta otheroldLion,wholookshalf-deadbutisstillincontrol,just bailoutforKZI,heengineersitsdestructionasapaybackfor ashewasinThe Godfatheruntilhegotbumpedoffbythat Zabel’snotbailingoutChurchillSchwartzeightyearsbefore cannoli.Ashedropshislittlepearls,heemitsalittlewhistle, undersimilarcircumstances.Thereareominousmeetingsof oneofthebesttouchesinthefilmthatIhavetobelieveheim- the Federal Reserve Commission in New York as Zabel un- provised.SusanSarandonislesseffectiveasJake’smother,who successfullytriestotradeonoldloyaltiesandfriendshipsby isforevercadgingmoneyfromhersonforfailedrealestate pleadinghiscasebeforethegroupthatholdshisfateintheir schemes.AlsolookforOliverStone,whopulledaHitchcock hands.ThereareacoupleofgreatscenesontheUpperWest byappearinginbothfilmsasatrader.Therearemanyshots Side in Central Park and the subway, involving a distraught of New York’s buildings and a little taste of sex, drugs, and ZabelandJake. materialisticexcessastheyounglionsgetoutrageousbonuses. Re-enterGekkoashegoesonthelecturecircuittoFordham OliverStoneisoneofmybêtenoirs.Hisoutlandishattempts Business School to publicize his book. He tells the students torewritehistory,hisadmirationforCastroandChavez,and that“moneyisabitchthatneversleepsandsheisjealous.”He his inane pronouncements characterizing Hitler as simply a reiterateshisoldaxiomthatgreedisgood,buttoomuchis “productofhistime”andextollingthe“good”sideofStalin, not,andthatgreedislegal.Henotesthatfortypercentofthe havediscreditedhiminmyview.Still,Imustcommendhim nation’sprofitscomefromfinancialservices,notproduction for clearly being ahead of the curve with these two films. of goods, principally involving what he calls “banks on ste- Hewasfilmingthefirstonein1985andreleaseditin1987, roids.”Jakegoesuptohimafterthelectureandtellshimthat whenthefinancialcrashoccurred.Asforthesecond,hewas heisengagedtoWinnie.Theyridethesubwaytogetherand promptlyonthecaseofthe2008debacleinthatthefilmbe- forgeaquidproquoarrangementinwhichGekkohelpsJake ganshootingthatyear.Healsohashighlightedthefactthat unravelthestepsleadingtothedestructionofKZIinreturn wealthinAmericawasoncebasedontheproductionofgoods. for trying to reconcile him with his daughter. This grafting That has changed in the computer age, when information ofaloveaffair,suchasitis,ontothepicture’smainthemeof canmakeorbreakindividualsandcompaniesandpaperhas theconvolutedmachinationsoftheWallStreettradersnever replacedtangiblegoodsasthecurrencyofwealth.Hepresum- reallyworks.Itseemslikeanattempttoreachayoungeraudi- ablylearnedthatlessonfromhisfather,whowasabrokerat encewhileshowingthatGekkohassomehumanity(although Shearson Lehman into the 1980s. Maybe he should give up notmuch).HeisnotaversetodupinghisdaughterandJake makingpicturesandbe“thecanaryinthecoalmine”inthe togetbackhis$100million,whichhepromptlyturnsinto$1 corneratthosefederalwatchdoggroupmeetings. billion,showingthathehasn’tlosthisoldtouch. Thefilmisfilledwithwhatmightbecalled“insidebase- Conviction ball,” with references to the cutthroat side of the financial Starring Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver, Juliette world with its own arcane language of credit default swaps, Lewis and Peter Gallagher. hedgefunds,derivatives,bundlingsubprimemortgages,and Directed by Tony Goldwyn. Rated R. Running time 107 min- toxicdebt.Atthetime,thesetermsweretotallyunfamiliarto utes. themajorityofthepublicwhoseretirementfundingdepended ontheireffectsonthemarkets.Theywerealsoignoredbythe ’mconflictedaboutConviction.Iattendedascreeningwith numerous public watchdogs at the Federal Reserve, the rel- afriendandifIhaddrivenmyowncar,Iwouldhavebeen evantCongressionalcommittees,andtheSECuntilthecrisis Igoneafterthefirstfifteenminutes.IfIhadbeenwatchingit exploded into public consciousness in 2008. There are also at home, I certainly would have gonged it. Here’s why. The thereferencestobanksbeing“toobigtofail”andtheirbeing film opens in 1980 with a long handheld camera sequence given bailouts in which they are awarded 100 cents on the panning over a grisly, blood-soaked murder scene in Ayer, dollarwhileinvestorsareshort-changed.Thisillustratesthe Massachusetts, where a woman named Katharina Brow had The Pharos/Winter2011 43 The physician at the movies been stabbed over thirty times. This is followed by rapid because his weekly letters were intercepted by her mother clipsoftwochildren,KennyandBettyAnneWaters,stealing andshebelievedthathewasthekiller.Thefilmmakersdon’t fromandtrashingthelady’shouse,gettingpunishedbytheir mention that Kenny died six months after his release. The motherwhogavebirthtoninechildrenbysevenfathers,and fewwrite-upsthatdomentionhisdeathsayonlythathedied being sent to foster homes, intercut with scenes of them as “tragically,”withoutgivingthedetails.Actually,hediedscal- adults.Kenny(SamRockwell)isclearlyacertifiablesociopath, ing a fifteen-foot fence taking a shortcut to a convenience alternatingbetweenturningonthecharmandactingouthis store.Hefellonhisheadandwaslaterfounddead.In2009, violenttemper.Heisrepeatedlytakenintocustodybypolice- thetownofAyersettledhisestate’scivilrightssuitfor$3.4 men who profess to like him and excuse his behavior. The million. scenethatreallyturnedmeoffwaswhereheisinabardanc- Inadditiontothosecitedearlier,therewereotherproblems ingwithhislittlechildinhisarmsatafamilycelebration.A withthismovie.Firstofall,Iwaspuzzledbyhowlittleatten- personheaccidentallyknocksintoquestionshistakingsuch tionwaspaidtodevelopingTaylor’scharactertogaininsights atoddlerintoabarandatthattimeofnight.Kennyslowly into her willingness to frame Kenny as well as at least one putshischilddownandgoesoverandpunchesouttheguy’s otherperson.Theonlyreasonposedisthatitwastoughbe- lights.Thenheturnsonthecharmbybuyingeveryoneadrink ingafemaledetectiveinthosedays.Really!Doesthatjustify anddoesafullstripteasetotheamusementofhisfamilyand framingpeople?Wouldtheyhaveusbelievethatwomenwho the patrons. I found this scene hard to believe

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