Film of Week Four: The Wolf of Wall Street
Arguably one of the more controversial films that are up for Best Picture this year, The Wolf of Wall Street is surrounded by familiar names for the film literate and illiterate. From director Martin Scorsese to actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill, the names associated with this film are “Top Dogs” in the industry.
After reviewing the trailer, it has the typical Scorsese elements: sex, drugs and a lot of money; only instead of revolving around crime lords and the mob, he is taking a stab at white collar crime on Wall Street.
I did a little research on this movie after watching the trailer and I was intrigued to find out that this is based on real events that occurred in the 1980s.
The Wolf of Wall Street is about the rise and corruption of a Mr. Jordan Belfort, an innocent-starting stockbroker who quickly falls to the addiction of money, power, sex and drugs.
After Watching Movie
Although not the most delicate in its portrayal, Martin Scorsese’s depict the corrupt rise and fall of a wayward Wall Street broker is an extremely exhilarating riot of bad taste and humanity.
I am surprised how different this movie really was from what I originally was expecting. I am glad that this movie wasn’t three full hours of Hollywood and Scorsese telling us how inherently foul evil American crony capitalism is, but instead showed how the system can have an evil effect on those that were once so innocent.
The film has a very interesting way of bringing the audience along for a ride, even during the more economic heavy terminology and lessons.
DiCaprio, on many occasions, breaks the fourth wall and talks with the audience members directly.
AP Photo:
Leonardo DiCaprio acts as Jordan Belfort in “The Wolf of Wall Street.” The Equinox Webmaster, Zak Koehler, gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars.
On more than one instance, DiCaprio begins explaining what he is doing—only to suddenly stop and tell us that we do not care how it works, all we need to know that it was illegal and we should not care.
To drive the legality out of our minds, DiCaprio would instead quickly show the audience how much fun money can bring us.
It appeared it was an attempt to almost bribe us to forget that people on Wall Street are breaking the law.
One of the strongest aspects of this film has to be the strong acting from DiCaprio and Hill. For me, Hill was the stand-out. Perhaps it is because I know Hill from a more comedic background as seen in his roles in 21 Jump Street, Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
There is a rumor that Hill took a major pay cut in order to get the roll because he said that the role was made for him.
I can not help but agree with him.
His role was a perfect blend of seriousness, comedy and villainous, making him the most interesting character in the movie.
His character is the most corrupt even from the beginning. His first scene shows him asking about how much money Leo makes, and wondering how to get into the business.
He becomes Leo’s right-hand-man not because he loves stocks and economics, but to get a status that he strives for. Hill is also the one that introduces DiCaprio’s character to drugs, pressuring him to smoke crack cocaine.
The inclusion of Hill was the start of the downfall for DiCaprio. I could be wrong, but the true addiction of wanting more everything began when Hill came into the picture.
Scorsese does a fantastic job portraying the true animal instincts and jungle that Wall Street get outs of some workers. In many scenes, the stock floor is ravaged with humans yelling, fighting each other and creating more sexual harassment lawsuits than the Clinton Administration.
Relax my political friends. It was a joke.
DiCaprio is the lion in the jungle, king of the land. No matter what he says, the workers listen. Why wouldn’t they? They were getting filthy rich.
I have to give a huge round of applause for Scorsese in this movie. He could have made this a lecture film, but instead dramatizes some elements while keeping the true spirit of Wall Street intact: “Make money, make a lot of it and make investors think they are making money.”
So many documentaries have come out since the 2008 financial crisis that proves this theory and spirit is correct—bankers buying gold trash bins because they can.
Ordering $30,000 prostitutes—because they can. Purchasing more drugs than the Ma and Pa Drug Store down on the corner of Main and Elm—because they can.
And Scorsese shows that for a good length of time, they get away with it. They buy politicians, find loopholes in the system and make sure their profit line sores.
Those who are claiming that DiCaprio and Scorsese are glorifying this lifestyle were clearly going into the movie with an intention in hand.
AP Photo:
Katarina Cas, Jonah Hill, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie and Jon Bernthal are photographed above in a scene from the film, “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
Not once did I feel like what the duo were doing was in bad taste or putting this type of banking on to a pedestal.
Out of the movies watched thus far, I think Scorsese has the biggest opportunity to take the Best Directing Oscar. I don’t think this movie deserves Best Picture or, and I am sorry Leo fans, DiCaprio deserves Best Actor.
Overall this movie deserves a 3.5 out of five stars. The direction, writing and acting from Jonah Hill really puts this movie to a new level.
DiCaprio’s solid performance brings the film into the audience with a full head of steam.
It was a bit dragged out, though, and I think that was the downfall for it.
This is definitely worth seeing and should be on the list of “Must Watch.”
Until next time.
Zak Koehler can be reached at zkoehler@keene-equinox.com