Generation Wealth

Lauren Greenfield’s documentary reminds viewers that money can’t buy happiness, but she expands on that theme to question the value of any obsessive interest, using her own devotion to photography—which has lessened time spent with her family—as an example. Much of Generation Wealth portrays the absurdity of a single-minded lust for monetary success, celebrity, and possessions. Greenfield checks in with David and Jacqueline Siegel—the couple shown building a grotesquely large mansion in the director’s previous film The Queen of Versailles—who are offered as a perfect example of profligate materialism, and Florian Homm, a German wheeler-dealer who made a fortune before being charged with violations of financial regulations that forced him into hiding before he was caught and convicted. Homm expounds profusely on the error of his ways, especially concerning the subsequent estrangement from his son. Greenfield also revisits some of the rich young people she photographed two decades ago for a 1997 book, finding that the opulence they flaunted then has hardly guaranteed them either success or happiness. Eventually, Greenfield turns the camera on herself to consider whether by placing such emphasis on her work she too has ignored what is really important in life. That observation seems to be a bit of a stretch—particularly if one applies it broadly to history’s greatest geniuses—but her multifaceted portrait of unfettered greed and excess is often compelling, even if it leads to some doubtful conclusions. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)