The film “The Age of Greed” caused controversy both among critics and viewers who watched the premiere. We can definitely say that this film is worth watching if only because the situation in which the main character finds himself is quite typical and could well happen to everyone.
The main plot
Retired military officer Jim Becksward, working as a security guard, found himself in a difficult life upheaval: against the background of his wife’s serious illness, which requires expensive treatment, his financial situation collapses due to flaws in the banking system. The situation is constantly heating up, because Jim is threatened to take away his house for debts to the bank, with which there is a court, the worsening condition of his wife and the real threat to stay on the street bring the protagonist of the film “The Age of Greed” to an extreme state. The last straw is dismissal from work. And here comes the moment when he can’t stand it: he picks up a weapon and goes to clean up Wall Street with a machine gun, pistols and grenades. In principle, the plot is not new and not especially original: a person, driven to desperation by the system and life circumstances, decides to cut the Gordian knot with one blow. The first half of the film looks like a domestic drama that tells about serious problems within one separate family.
But the second part of the film “The Age of Greed” is already a thriller with elements of an action movie, with an increasing and exciting plot. In fact, this film is about the ruthlessness and indifference of the system to the problems and troubles of a simple little man, the system will not suffer from the fact that its tiny screw breaks. Capitalism in action is completely ruthless. A world in which only money, accounts and the people who have them matter, this is capitalism. We can say that the “Age of greed” is a very relevant picture, because the global crisis has left behind millions of ruined human lives. Billionaires lost millions, and ordinary people - the last.
Acting and directorial breakthrough of the painting “The Age of Greed”
The whole plot and intrigue of the film is focused on the main character, played by the incredible Dominic Purcell. It must be said that, despite the somewhat inexpressive and “stone” facial expressions of this actor, in this picture he distinguished himself by the expression of feelings and emotions, which is usually not typical for him. The role of the average American unbroken by the system, in whose soul a barrage of indignation and decisiveness, chaos and cold calculation are raging, Purcell brilliantly succeeded. Usually he plays cool machos, to create the image of which the main actor’s tool is the game of biceps. It is safe to say that the “Age of greed” is a clear breakthrough in the acting career of Dominic. For the director of the picture,
Uwe Boll, the film also became landmark. Against the background of his previous works, which are distinguished mainly by a bloody massacre with a difficult to grasp meaning, the Age of Greed in 2013 was a pleasant and intriguing exception. Perhaps such a fruitful creative union of creators and actors will be a convincing argument for the appearance in the near future of the second part of the picture.