The American Ruling Class 2005

The film opens with Lewis H. Lapham presenting a provocative question about whether America harbors a true ruling class—a circle of wealthy and powerful families that seemingly steer banks, businesses, and government, shaping every facet of national life.

To explore this idea, the movie constructs a fictional scenario surrounding two Yale graduates who come from opposite ends of the economic spectrum. Jack Bellami, heir to a rich family, is unsure what he wants from life but ultimately decides to enter the banking world, choosing a position at Goldman Sachs. He convinces himself that the banking system wields the world’s leverage and that joining it could be the most effective way to influence change from within.

His best friend, Mike Vanzetti, hailing from a middle-class background, aims to alter the world from outside the system. He pursues a career as a writer, moves into a studio apartment, works as a waiter, and steadfastly refuses to pander to the masses or write “lowest-common-denominator” material for a big outlet. Mike’s arc becomes central in the film’s second half, shifting the lens from Jack’s ascent to Mike’s struggle with money, ambition, and the meaning of his craft.

A decisive moment occurs when Jack’s success at Goldman leads him to offer Mike a chance to join the firm—an invitation Mike initially declines. As student-loan bills pile up and his writer’s fire cools, Mike grows resentful of his modest income and the limited impact of his work. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Taylor pushes him to keep pursuing opportunities at the wealthy party circuit, where she hopes the path to influence might lie.

A pivotal encounter follows when Lapham invites Mike on a journey to a place described as “a space that used to be called, in another age of man, Mexico.” The destination turns out to be Texas, where Mike is shown how power brokers shape policy and how money ultimately overrides the efforts of those without wealth to reform society.

Eventually, Mike succumbs to the lure of security and accepts Jack’s offer, trading idealism for a banker’s life. During a visit to Taylor’s mansion, the two reflect on this turning point—Mike reframing his worldview to claim that money is everything and that wealth acts as a shield against the corruption and abuses that the ruling class can wield.

The film then splits into two endings. In the first ending, we see Mike on his first day at the bank, visibly anxious and uneasy as he begins the initiation process and questions the path he has chosen. In response to audience reaction, a second ending was added: Mike’s attention is diverted by a stage show being rehearsed by the lead singer of a band called “THE WHATS?” along with a group of children. The performance underscores the film’s central themes, and the closing image places Mike in the woods, leaving the ultimate fate of his decision—and whether he will stand by his new life or rethink it—deliberately unresolved.

Across its narrative, the film uses Mike and Jack’s contrasting journeys to probe how wealth, influence, and power interlock to shape choices, opportunities, and the very definition of progress, all while maintaining a measured, thought-provoking tone. The ambiguous ending invites viewers to consider where responsibility lies in a society that often rewards financial success over personal conviction, and whether true change can emerge from within or outside the system.