Oliver Stones film Wall Street is indicative of the yuppie ethos of the 1980s. The movies carries a traditional coming-of-age plot structure The am!itious youth inevita!ly seduced" influenced and !etrayed !y successful e#perienced men" and then tries to turn the ta!les. What ma$es it high-octane is the setting. %t&s the stoc$ mar$et" and it&s 'e( )or$ *ity. +arely has the simple concept of (or$ seemed so e#citing. Oliver Stone $noc$s one out of the par$ in his opening scenes" a range of ,anhattanites rising (ith the sun to the voice of Sinatra" doing (hatever it is they do - !lue collar" gray collar" (hite collar. the doc$s" or may!e the stoc$s. Thousands of people on the trains" the side(al$s" cramming the elevators" may!e rich" may!e poor" either (ay" en route to ma$ing a living" and highlights this through the perceptions through the central character" /ud 0o#.Stone (as dra(n to the stoc$-mar$et concept !ecause his father (as a stoc$!ro$er" e#emplified !y the 1al 1ol!roo$ character" as (ell as the sudden controversial topic of Wall Street in the mid 1980s. There (ere 2un$ !ond $ings" leveraged !uyouts" hostile ta$eovers. 3eople ma$ing lots of 4easy4 money (ithout necessarily delivering a pu!lic !enefit. This trou!led Stone and evidently the 4Wall Street4 cast" according tointervie(s.5lthough 6Wall Street7 faces some issues of financial immorality and a!surdity" its (orst fla( is through casting. *harlie Sheen" a young actor at the time" does not have the decorum for this role. 1is 8emptiness in the scenes renders him an unfit protagonist capa!le of demonstrating a character of testosterone" not (isecrac$s. Whether he did not ta$e the role seriously enough" (ithout 9e$$o in the scenes" it is hard to ta$e /ud 0o# as an authentic character. The authenticity of this film is hugely detrimented through his actions" particularly including (hat shouldve !een a very tense moment for him" near the end (hen he is trying (ith the union leaders to persuade Sir :a(rence Wildman to !uy their company. Sheen delivers that scene as though he (ere as$ed to film it late at night" annoyed !y the interruption.Worse though" are the scenes in (hich he is paired up (ith his pretentious muse" ;arien" played !y ;aryl 1annah. %gnoring the fact that even 1annah" !y all accounts"did not li$e her role to !egin (ith" one (ould guess that" had the studio recognised the long-term appeal of the film" it (ouldve allo(ed the recasting of ;arien and perhaps /ud as (ell. 1er shallo(ness of the character and the desperation for pure !eauty (ithin the film rendered her as a passa!le actress.5s the salient character (ithin the film" /ud is surprisingly empty. 1is greatest dream is to have some money" may!e a !etter 2o!. ohn *. ,c9inley(ith a laugh a minute. ,arv is a high-octane account e#ecutive (ho loves the drill. /ut he $no(s his place. 4%t&s the !ig-game hunters (ho !ag guys li$e 9e$$o" not guys li$e us.4 1e evidently does 2ust the amount of (or$ to maintain a living on Wall Street !ut $no(s @ p.m. is Auitting time. 1e (ants the Bnic$s and chic$s. 1e&ll gladly listen to tips !ut (on&t go out of his (ay to uncover one. 1e&s steady" not getting rich" not hurting anyone" reveling in the semi-e#citing life he&s got.Those characters" and some others" relieve 9e$$o of the !urden of carrying the entire movie. Stone might !e most underrated for his character selections !ut he has a $nac$ for pic$ing e#citing scenes. 5nyone the least !it intrigued !y 'e( )or$ *ity gets an adrenaline rush out of 4Wall Street4 -- the cro(ded su!(ay and elevators" the !ustling high-rises" the suits" the !lue-collar types" the street people" the super-rich. /ud&s 2o! -- even !efore he hoo$s up (ith 9e$$o -- is an appealing place" a high-testosterone" money-ma$ing operation (ith a great collective sense of humor. This is a meritocracy !attleground (here the score is $ept in dollars and the (inners get re(arded and the losers get punished.Thomas >iang