Film Review: THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
The Wolf of Wall Street
I will see any film with Leonardo DeCaprio in it, especially when it's directed by Martin Scorsese and based on a real story, so I was pretty excited when I went into the cinema.
The opening scene lays out exactly where the film is going, unfortunately it stays there a bit too long for me. Of course Leo gives a great performance, when doesn't he? And the film is hilarious in parts, especially the overdose scene, you can see why Leo won a Best Actor in a comedy award, although Matthew McConaughey was pretty funny too. But why is it so long? I was waiting for the monotonous partying, drug abuse and long winded speeches to lead somewhere significant but then after awhile I fell into a daze and just wanted the film to end. I guess you could say this is not my kind of movie, maybe if there was more of who Belfort was before all of the hedonistic excess and then after his downfall, edited into a shorter film, I would have found it more interesting. Saying that THE WOLF OF WALL STREET has found a huge audience so if you have a few hours to spare this could be for you, the sets, costume, cinematography and performances are pretty fabulous.
The Wolf of Wall Street
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?
Revered filmmaker Martin Scorsese directs the true story of New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio). From the American dream to corporate greed, Belfort goes from penny stocks and righteousness to IPOs and a life of corruption in the late 80s. Excess success and affluence in his early twenties as founder of the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont warranted Belfort the title. "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Money. Power. Women. Drugs. Temptations were for the taking and the threat of authority was irrelevant. For Jordan and his wolf pack, modesty was quickly deemed overrated and more was never enough.
WHO'S IN IT?
Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Margot Robbie, Jon Bernthal & Cristin Milioti
The Wolf of Wall Street
COMMENTS FROM LEONARDO DICAPRIO
"This story was like a modern-day Caligula to me," says Leonardo DiCaprio, the film’s lead actor and a producer who fought for years to make "The Wolf of Wall Street." DiCaprio can’t help but compare Jordan Belfort to history’s most debauched and insanely indulgent Roman Emperor – but he was awestruck to see Rome's boundless lust for the illicit transferred to a New York brokerage full of salesmen from Queens.
It was the setting amidst New York financial outlaws out to have the time of their lives while blinding themselves to the consequences that drew him in. "In the late 80s and early 90s Wall Street was so incredibly unregulated, it was like the wild, wild West," DiCaprio notes. "And Jordan Belfort was one of those wolves who took advantage of the loopholes to make a gigantic fortune. To me, his story seemed to embody that specific time when our financial institutions went completely awry."
DiCaprio was also drawn to Belfort’s unconstrained honesty about the heights of ecstasy he found within his grasp – money flowing so freely people were having carnal relations on stacks of it until the totally exorbitant became the ordinary. "What was so fascinating was Jordan’s absolute candidness about his every crazy endeavor. He held nothing back. He pulled no punches. He was unapologetic about his lust for wealth and his mad consumption – and I felt that was the basis for a fascinating character. And the fact that he ultimately had to pay the price made for a great story."