The Wolf of Wall Street (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Holy crap. That's all I can type right now when thinking about Martin Scorsese's 179 minute epic 'The Wolf of Wall Street' - an expose of disgusting, immoral, corrupt behavior of Wall Street-types; the kinds of criminals whose activities led to the 2008 economic meltdown. On their 5th collaboration together, Scorsese finally turns Leo DiCaprio loose. The result is an astounding, unhinged performance the likes of which we hadn't seen from him. 'Wolf ...' tells the rags-to-riches tale about Jordan Belfort, a hardworking, ambitious, rogue stock broker who burst into the industry in the late 1980s. He loses his job on Wall Street in the 1987 Crash but reinvents himself as a master trader of penny stocks. Fraud abounds & Jordan rides this criminal wave to unfathomable wealth.
He starts his own crooked company (Stratton Oakmont), recruits with religious fervor, & gathers a team of misfit cronies like Donnie Azoff (toothy, piggish Jonah Hill), who shares his addiction for quaaludes. Whip smart, but morally corrupt, & sleazy ... Jordan dumps his 1st wife (Cristin Milioti) for a hot blond, Naomi "The Duchess of Bay Ridge" Lapaglia (stunning Aussie newcomer, Margot Robbie). All's just swell for a while ($$$$, power, sprawling mansions, yacht, helicopter, 2 bodyguards named Rocco, maniacal sex parties, coke, 'ludes, booze, xanax, adderall, pot, morphine, you name it). But problems arise for Jordan when an insistent FBI agent (Kyle Chandler) opens a file on him. Mayhem ensues; culminating when Belfort finally gets his amazingly belated (if also insufficient) comeuppance.
This movie is overstuffed, undernourished, sexed-up, drugged-out, wild, unwieldy, giddy, electric, & everything in-between. And still, there is technique & skill involved in keeping it all flowing with masterful direction & editing. I'm reminded of a storm at sea in which Jordan & Donnie cope with the sinking of the yacht by popping quaaludes. There's also a plane explosion that occurs in the same sequence -- all of this is mindboggling because it ACTUALLY happened.
We come to think of Scorsese for his mobster catalogue: Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino, & The Departed. But he has also showed great variance over the years. Think of historical Kundun, elegant The Age of Innocence, The Aviator, & his recent love letter to the creation of cinema, Hugo. And now with 'Wolf ...' we have one of his few black comedies. There are tons of jokes & visual gags, but the darkly humorous elements are incorporated into a cynical script that questions the 'get rich by any means' mentality that has always infected Wall Street. This film is an indictment of greed, yet also establishes hedonistic, womanizing Jordan Belfort as a sort of megalomaniacal anti-hero. We marvel at the audacity with which he attained his millions, even though we loathhhhhe him for doing it.
Throughout his career, Scorsese is also known for pushing the MPAA's R-rating to its limit. Somehow escaping an NC-17, 'Wolf ...' abounds with chin-dropping excess, nudity, depravities, drug use, & extreme profanity. The film is based on a true story, so we know that most of what we see & hear is fact. After all, this is a tale about how the pursuit of $$ can transform a seemingly moral family man into a tycoon of wicked immorality & debauchery. In that respect, 'Wolf ...' shares a vibe/arc to Goodfellas. i.e., both leads claw their way into a decadent life, creates a band of criminal loyalists, & are ultimately undone by vanity/excesses.
Scorsese's moral theme is a bit enigmatic (is he exalting or condemning the corrupt brokers?). For me, I was disgusted by what these brokers got away with. But I was also kinda scintillated by the brilliance & audacity of Belfort. I couldn't help but laugh at what he "accomplished". But then I cheered when he was caught. I loathed him when he hits his wife & puts his daughter in danger. But then I loved the scene with the FBI agent sitting on the miserable subway as prophesied by Belfort. Sure, the agent lives an honest life, but he's stuck on that subway while Belfort lives the dream. So as you can see, the moral theme is up for debate.
I've never seen DiCaprio go to the places he goes to here {look out for the Lemmon quaalude sequence involving the "palsy crawl" to his car, outrageous}. And I find it fascinating that Leo plays 2 very different Long Island bajillionaires this year (the other being Jay Gatsby). Jonah Hill is effective as Jordan's loathsome, whack job sidekick. Matthew McConaughey is SUPERB as Jordan's smarmy broker-guru; too bad he's only in a couple of scenes. Margot Robbie ups the sex quotient with a performance that's eye-opening (for plenty of reasons) & humorous. Jean Dujardin makes for a suave, yet oily Swiss banker. I enjoyed Joanne Lumley as Naomi's fabulous Aunt Emma. And Rob Reiner rounds out the cast as Jordan's father who sees his son going in an uncontrollable downward spiral.
Now, there ARE serious aspects to the proceedings (the last half hour gets very dark). But I laughed during this film more than with most comedies I've seen all year (the exception being This Is the End). I think Scorsese wants us to gaze upon the Wall Street hijinks/gross debauchery with a warped sense of humor. It's as if he's saying, "Yes, ALL of this is absurd & atrocious ... but it's the truth, so laugh if you don't want to cry!". 'The Wolf of Wall Street' will likely offend conservative movie-goers. And while it's fascinating on a moment-to-moment basis, it's also a bit exhausting. But it will have many champions, as well. 'Wolf ...' crackles with manic exuberance, outlandish humor, sobering insight, & revels in showing repellent people who - in some cases - don't suffer the consequences they really deserve.
He starts his own crooked company (Stratton Oakmont), recruits with religious fervor, & gathers a team of misfit cronies like Donnie Azoff (toothy, piggish Jonah Hill), who shares his addiction for quaaludes. Whip smart, but morally corrupt, & sleazy ... Jordan dumps his 1st wife (Cristin Milioti) for a hot blond, Naomi "The Duchess of Bay Ridge" Lapaglia (stunning Aussie newcomer, Margot Robbie). All's just swell for a while ($$$$, power, sprawling mansions, yacht, helicopter, 2 bodyguards named Rocco, maniacal sex parties, coke, 'ludes, booze, xanax, adderall, pot, morphine, you name it). But problems arise for Jordan when an insistent FBI agent (Kyle Chandler) opens a file on him. Mayhem ensues; culminating when Belfort finally gets his amazingly belated (if also insufficient) comeuppance.
This movie is overstuffed, undernourished, sexed-up, drugged-out, wild, unwieldy, giddy, electric, & everything in-between. And still, there is technique & skill involved in keeping it all flowing with masterful direction & editing. I'm reminded of a storm at sea in which Jordan & Donnie cope with the sinking of the yacht by popping quaaludes. There's also a plane explosion that occurs in the same sequence -- all of this is mindboggling because it ACTUALLY happened.
We come to think of Scorsese for his mobster catalogue: Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino, & The Departed. But he has also showed great variance over the years. Think of historical Kundun, elegant The Age of Innocence, The Aviator, & his recent love letter to the creation of cinema, Hugo. And now with 'Wolf ...' we have one of his few black comedies. There are tons of jokes & visual gags, but the darkly humorous elements are incorporated into a cynical script that questions the 'get rich by any means' mentality that has always infected Wall Street. This film is an indictment of greed, yet also establishes hedonistic, womanizing Jordan Belfort as a sort of megalomaniacal anti-hero. We marvel at the audacity with which he attained his millions, even though we loathhhhhe him for doing it.
Throughout his career, Scorsese is also known for pushing the MPAA's R-rating to its limit. Somehow escaping an NC-17, 'Wolf ...' abounds with chin-dropping excess, nudity, depravities, drug use, & extreme profanity. The film is based on a true story, so we know that most of what we see & hear is fact. After all, this is a tale about how the pursuit of $$ can transform a seemingly moral family man into a tycoon of wicked immorality & debauchery. In that respect, 'Wolf ...' shares a vibe/arc to Goodfellas. i.e., both leads claw their way into a decadent life, creates a band of criminal loyalists, & are ultimately undone by vanity/excesses.
Scorsese's moral theme is a bit enigmatic (is he exalting or condemning the corrupt brokers?). For me, I was disgusted by what these brokers got away with. But I was also kinda scintillated by the brilliance & audacity of Belfort. I couldn't help but laugh at what he "accomplished". But then I cheered when he was caught. I loathed him when he hits his wife & puts his daughter in danger. But then I loved the scene with the FBI agent sitting on the miserable subway as prophesied by Belfort. Sure, the agent lives an honest life, but he's stuck on that subway while Belfort lives the dream. So as you can see, the moral theme is up for debate.
I've never seen DiCaprio go to the places he goes to here {look out for the Lemmon quaalude sequence involving the "palsy crawl" to his car, outrageous}. And I find it fascinating that Leo plays 2 very different Long Island bajillionaires this year (the other being Jay Gatsby). Jonah Hill is effective as Jordan's loathsome, whack job sidekick. Matthew McConaughey is SUPERB as Jordan's smarmy broker-guru; too bad he's only in a couple of scenes. Margot Robbie ups the sex quotient with a performance that's eye-opening (for plenty of reasons) & humorous. Jean Dujardin makes for a suave, yet oily Swiss banker. I enjoyed Joanne Lumley as Naomi's fabulous Aunt Emma. And Rob Reiner rounds out the cast as Jordan's father who sees his son going in an uncontrollable downward spiral.
Now, there ARE serious aspects to the proceedings (the last half hour gets very dark). But I laughed during this film more than with most comedies I've seen all year (the exception being This Is the End). I think Scorsese wants us to gaze upon the Wall Street hijinks/gross debauchery with a warped sense of humor. It's as if he's saying, "Yes, ALL of this is absurd & atrocious ... but it's the truth, so laugh if you don't want to cry!". 'The Wolf of Wall Street' will likely offend conservative movie-goers. And while it's fascinating on a moment-to-moment basis, it's also a bit exhausting. But it will have many champions, as well. 'Wolf ...' crackles with manic exuberance, outlandish humor, sobering insight, & revels in showing repellent people who - in some cases - don't suffer the consequences they really deserve.