Review of "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Warning! Contains Spoilers!

Martin Scorsese! Yay! Leonardo DiCaprio! Yay! Mathew McConaughey! Meh! Jonah Hill! Yay! ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ was set for a winter release and as such it clearly had its sights on Oscar gold. I frankly enjoy DiCaprio and Scorsese so I was greatly excited for the coming flick. My only trepidation came from the title and topic. Wall Street. “Not again” I almost groaned. Was this going to be another corrupt city stock broker story with drugs, excesses, questionable morals and an eventual revelation come feel good ending? But this was Scorsese. With a three hour movie at an 18+ rating. I had hope. The cinema was packed. Show time!

Jordan Belford (DiCaprio) is on the up and up. As a burgeoning stock broker type person he gets some life lessons from a new mentor (Mathew McConaughey). The rules are simple. To be a success he must never give in on a sale and prevent the mirage of the stock world from being exposed to those who own stocks. Survival in this world can only be maintained by a lifestyle of constant sex, drugs and alcohol. What follows is years of success combined with sex, drugs and alcohol. Belford and his business buddy (Jonah Hill) get very greedy and end up ruining everything. As his work falls apart so does his home life. Soon left with no family, no business and no more drugs, Belford is sent to jail on over forty counts of being a bell end. He prison ends up being little more than a country club with barred windows and he now makes a living training others to be as big a bell end as he used to be.

Is there anything more American than making money?

Scorsese has that great ability to find the right people for the job. He didn’t disappoint with this cast. DiCaprio is mesmerising as the lead. Belford shocks us and makes us laugh but fundamentally the man is a monster. DiCaprio carries this movie from start to beginning. It was no easy task. Fundamentally we must buy into the character from the get go as this is especially a first person story. Belford starts his journey as an ambitious yet naive business man with a happy marriage. By mid movie he has become a junky millionaire who corrupts everything he touches. Before the curtain falls he is a washed out, beating his wife and endangering his children in a drug rage. I cannot think of anyone else in this role. DiCaprio nails it. 

Mathew McConaughey has a small role to play in this movie. He is on screen for a few scenes but dominates with a very unique performance. Fundamentally seen as a mentor, he paints the picture of a business world dominated by debauchery, cocaine and unpanelled riches. Belford eats it all up, listening intently. So do we. Our hope for the young Belford is being eroded by McConaughey’s speech. It is then that we start to see him closer. He is thin, his eyes intense, his expression always slightly vacant yet at the same time intense. It’s almost that he is focusing, but not on reality. Only later do we see what he actually was when Belford himself begins to fall. He is the devil tempting our protagonist towards damnation. He is a junky in an expensive suit with a spray on tan. If only Belford could see past his promises maybe could save himself. I am looking forward to “Dallas Buyers Club” after seeing this new McConaughey.

You can trust me. I'm Mathew McConaughey

What actor surprised me the most? Jonah Hill. He is the Hardy to DiCaprio’s Laurel. Or the Himmler to DiCaprio’s Hitler. He fought to work with Scorsese and then bust his arse to act his best. We don’t get his full story but still enjoy the constant companion he provides for Belford. The chemistry between both actors is magical on screen and no doubt was the result of much improvisation as well as good scrip and direction. With any luck this performance may take the career of Hill into new projects away from his staple comedy fat guy roles. 

Best bit? It’s hard to decide with such a great movie. The Quaaludes scene (this brand of drug known as Lemons) is probably the greats drug fuelled shenanigans seen since ‘Trainspotting’. Honestly, it was one of the funniest things I have seen in years. Anything that ends with a character having to take cocaine to save the day has to be worth a watch. See the film just for how terrible/funny this is. Despite this I have to choose something which is in no way related to the plot. It is so inconsequential that I believe many will have missed it. ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ contains the greatest man falling into a pool scene. Returning from one heavy night on the town (a normal work day) Belford lands his helicopter outside his mansion and stumbles home. Trying to compose himself and not wake the baby he manages the most convincing struggle with gravity vs. intoxication that ends with him swimming. But that fall. The only way it could have been possible was for Scorsese to get DiCaprio drunk and film him doing laps of a pool until the inevitable. Classic slapstick from a director and actor looking for Oscar success. 

When life gives you lemons...

‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ is a superb example of cinema at its most entertaining. It blurs the line between art and entertainment. Why do some not like it? It has been criticised for having no moral compass. But this is essential. ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ makes no apologies for its story. Neither does Belford. We hear nothing of his former wife, the lives of his children or the effect on those he conned. It isn’t about them. Scorsese and Belford leave the moral implications up to the audience. We know this wrong and terrible but dam do we want the money that Belford has. There is the great question. Can we have one without the other? Would we con ourselves into believing yes if we were the ones with the millions? During the movie a reporter interviews Jordan Belford about his company and its way of operating. Her article chastises Belford for his dirty dealings and underhand tactics and labels him the Wolf of Wall Street. The result of this bad press? The very next day his office is filled with young naive brokers wanting a piece of the cake. There is the answer.

Should have stuck with the Game of Thrones gig...

This is a fabulous film. I honestly laughed harder and for longer than during ‘Achorman 2.’ Go and see this movie, even if it’s just for the shock.

I give ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ five Brian faces out of five. Now sell me this pen.