For those who possess a keen interest in finance, this interest can sometimes extend to other parts of life. These are the top 4 finance movies to watch if you are feeling the need for a little inspiration.
1. Wall Street
Gordan Gekko has been synonymous with pop culture ever since his “greed, for lack of a better word, is good” statement. Wall Street takes place during Gecko’s heyday in 1980s Wall Street. Gecko, played by Michael Douglas, is a ruthless corporate raider who takes on Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen, a naïve but confident young man under his wing to learn the ropes of the stock market and teach him what it takes to be a successful stockbroker, even if it means bending or breaking the rules. The film was a success and brought in a new wave of stockbrokers onto the scene although they seemingly missed the entire point of the film.
2. Wolf of Wall Street
Jordan Belfort was the Wolf back in the 80s and 90s and made a lot of money scamming innocent people into thinking they were going to be wealthy by buying worthless stocks. He led a decadent life working on Wall Street and eventually got his comeuppance by being too greedy. This is inspired by a true story that stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and there were obvious liberties taken with Belfort’s life to make a cohesive story. It is quite an entertaining film but if you ever wanted to buy US stocks in Australia this would most certainly be the wrong man to take advice from.
3. Catch Me If You Can
This film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks was a great chase film that was directed by Steven Spielberg and followed the real-life adventures of Frank Abagnale Jr. who was able to thwart the FBI for years by posing as different people. He was able to create fraudulent bank cheques, banknotes, and certificates to such perfection that even professional fraud examiners couldn’t tell the difference. He was eventually caught and sentenced to prison and was released but the veracity of his claims has been widely met with scrutiny ever since. This should not take away from the film though, as it is an enjoyable cat-and-mouse game between DiCaprio’s charming portrayal of Abegnale Jr. and Hanks’ staunch yet surprisingly sympathetic take on FBI agent Carl Hanratty, who was based on a real-life character.
4. Limitless
The original story of a man going nowhere in life before it all turns around. From his brother-in-law, Bradley Cooper’s character learns there is a drug that has been created that can expand your mind in ways you’ve never imagined. At first, the protagonist was sceptical but after some situations he was forced to take the drug and his mind opened. He could remember every little thing he’d ever seen or read in his life and this led to him being able to finally complete the book he’d been working on for years. The drug finally came with a downfall which was addiction but not before he was able to play the stock market with ease. He was able to see the trends with a minuscule eye and made changes to his investments accordingly. The overall message though is that of a cautionary one about getting what you want when you want, and then having to deal with the consequences.
