Review 529: The Wolf of Wall Street
Based on the memoir The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort, In 1987, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) takes an entry-level job at a Wall Street brokerage firm. By the early 1990s, while still in his 20s, Belfort founds his own firm, Stratton Oakmont. Tother with his trusted friend Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill) and a band of merry brokers, Belfort makes a huge fortune by defrauding wealthy investors out of million. However while Belfort and his cronies partake in a hedonistic brew of sex, drugs and thrills, the SEC and the FBI close in on his empire of excess.
The story at this film’s core is just extraordinary. It's one mans account of a very insane time in recent history and what's so appealing about his story is his absolute, candid honesty about every radical endeavour that he went through. Jordon Belfort started out as an ordinary kid who grew up in Queens, his parents were accountants. He wanted to make good, wanted to make a lot of money and be successful and in the process he just fell down the rabbit hole. It exposes the ugliness of criminal life in an almost enticing sort of way. The Wall Street setting is really just a backdrop for Jordan's journey from nothing to everything and then back to nothing again. It's a film about excess and I adore it. The film doesn't make a judgment, it doesn't appologise, it doesn't explain, it just presents the information for us as an audience to draw our own conclusions. It never tries to make Belfort and his cohorts likeable, it portrays them for who and what they are. The film shows you all of these people and it seems to be a lot of fun but it doesn’t just look that way, they really did have a lot of fun, because, in fact, that’s all they really could do is have fun and more fun and more on top of that until it wasn’t so much fun anymore.
The story of Jordan Belfort can not only be seen as a cautionary tale but also a look at how dirty and corrupt the world of Wall Street is. But Scorsese and writer Terence Winter (whom they previously collaborated on the acclaimed HBO crime drama series Boardwalk Empire) handle it so deftly in such a darkly comedic way that it becomes infectious and turn it into a tsunami of craziness. He knows how to handle the most dramatic version of events and making them believable and authentic.
Scorsese wisely and intelligently uses the outrageous nature of Belfort's life as a source of the films comedy: This dude made millions by defrauding wealthy investors, turned it into a business and somehow by some miracle got away with it for so long. Even though he's running a company, he's able to live a stress free life thanks in no small part to all the money he makes and remarkably it pays off.
It's ostentatious, vulgar, disgusting, adacious and unrepentant in its profanity and I just don't care.
Martin Scorsese's direction is simply sublime, every frame is like a drug itself in how it addicts us as an audience to the fun and crazy lifestyle the characters lead and how it lulls us into this amoral but glamorous lifestyle.
The cinematography is gorgeous and captures the glitz and the glamour of Jordan's world; the way the camera focuses on the money, drinks, drugs and Belfort's luxury lifestyle in general is almost a drugs unto itself that's nigh-on impossible to resist. The soundtrack, containing Scorsese’s trademark use of popular music, is fantastic, the production design is magnificent and layered with detail, the costumes are gorgeous.
With a runtime of 169 minutes, The Wolf of Wall Street will feel overwhelming to some but because Belfrot's story is so engrossing and thanks to Scorsese's classic staccato pacing, you probably won't even notice.
Leonardo DiCaprio shows once again that he's one of the finest actors working today playing Jordan Belfort. It’s a role that fits right into his wheelhouse. He’s an incredibly tense sort of character, going from a mild mannered man trying to make it into the world of finance to a drug fueled nutcase.
Martin Scorsese's direction is simply sublime, every frame is like a drug itself in how it addicts us as an audience to the fun and crazy lifestyle the characters lead and how it lulls us into this amoral but glamorous lifestyle.
The cinematography is gorgeous and captures the glitz and the glamour of Jordan's world; the way the camera focuses on the money, drinks, drugs and Belfort's luxury lifestyle in general is almost a drugs unto itself that's nigh-on impossible to resist. The soundtrack, containing Scorsese’s trademark use of popular music, is fantastic, the production design is magnificent and layered with detail, the costumes are gorgeous.
With a runtime of 169 minutes, The Wolf of Wall Street will feel overwhelming to some but because Belfrot's story is so engrossing and thanks to Scorsese's classic staccato pacing, you probably won't even notice.
Leonardo DiCaprio shows once again that he's one of the finest actors working today playing Jordan Belfort. It’s a role that fits right into his wheelhouse. He’s an incredibly tense sort of character, going from a mild mannered man trying to make it into the world of finance to a drug fueled nutcase.
He's a man from a middle class background who is set up to be a relatable protagonist. Someone who wants money to overcome that background and was changed by Wall Street itself. From day one, he's encouraged to drink, use drugs, masturbate (yes really) and swear to his hearts content. He honestly thought that he could bypass morality with a combination of money and drugs.
He learned that the higher you go in Wall Street, the more people respect you. But money alone isn't something that drives Belfort, he also wants to live a lifestyle with no work or responsibilities. He doesn't want to run a business, he wants to run an Empire. He really thought that he could bypass and surpass morality with a combination of money and drugs. He lived like a rockstar, had everything, everyone has ever wanted and yet it wasn't enough; he still wanted more.
Margot Robbie (in a breakout performance) is fabulous playing Naomi Lapaglia, Jordan Belfot’s wife.
On a side note, she looks absolutely fabulous having money tapped to her hot bod.
Jonah Hill is delightfully amusing playing Donnie Azoff, Belfort's right hand man. In a way, Azoff is more conscienceless than Belfort. and the fact they are so unscrupulous is what makes Jordan and Donnie such a great double act.
Kyle Chandler is also very strong playing FBI agent Patrick Denham. In world full of chaos, decadence, the money, the cheating and the stealing Denham is one of the few genuinely good guys. A sort of Carl Hanratty to Belfort’s Frank Abagnale Jr.
Jon Favreau, Jon Bernthal, Jean Dujardin, Rob Reiner, Joanna Lumley, Cristin Milioti from How I Met Your Mother and Matthew McConaughey round out the films massive cast with outstanding performances. All of them seem to get the material and particularly McConaughey, he’s only in three scenes at the beginning but they’re of central importance and he brings his signature charm to them.
Margot Robbie (in a breakout performance) is fabulous playing Naomi Lapaglia, Jordan Belfot’s wife.
On a side note, she looks absolutely fabulous having money tapped to her hot bod.
Jonah Hill is delightfully amusing playing Donnie Azoff, Belfort's right hand man. In a way, Azoff is more conscienceless than Belfort. and the fact they are so unscrupulous is what makes Jordan and Donnie such a great double act.
Kyle Chandler is also very strong playing FBI agent Patrick Denham. In world full of chaos, decadence, the money, the cheating and the stealing Denham is one of the few genuinely good guys. A sort of Carl Hanratty to Belfort’s Frank Abagnale Jr.
Jon Favreau, Jon Bernthal, Jean Dujardin, Rob Reiner, Joanna Lumley, Cristin Milioti from How I Met Your Mother and Matthew McConaughey round out the films massive cast with outstanding performances. All of them seem to get the material and particularly McConaughey, he’s only in three scenes at the beginning but they’re of central importance and he brings his signature charm to them.
5/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
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