Summary
7 tech score
Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio in “Wolf of Wall Street”; photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures
“The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount Pictures)
“The Wolf of Wall Street” is the true story of stockbroker Jordan Belfort, and the picture it paints is not a pretty one. Director Martin Scorcese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio pull out all the stops to show this man’s rise and fall. This is a film without heroes and without balance. All of the major players are amoral in their outlook and this makes for a downer of a movie that is still fascinating to watch.
Belfort (DiCaprio) starts out as a young man eager to make his mark on Wall Street. He gets a good job with a solid company and soon finds himself under the mentoring care of ace stockbroker Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey). Still this is not enough to protect him when things begin to go South . Soon he is unemployed and searching for another break.
He bounces back by selling penny stocks and making a fortune. He doesn’t do what is right for his clients; he does what is right for himself. This attitude spills over to his partner in crime, Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill). Belfort and all of his cronies rise to power and amass great wealth. They also throw themselves into a decadent lifestyle full of booze, sex and drugs – especially Quaaludes.
The movie is filmed with its focus on this lifestyle. There is nudity aplenty and the sex scenes are fairly graphic. There is also scene after scene of drug use and its aftermath. And how did Hollywood ever survive without the use of the F word. It seems there is not a single sentence that does not contain at least one use of this adjective, and sometimes it is used multiple times in the same sentence. It rings in your head as you watch the film.
DiCaprio is solid as Belfort, capturing his obsessive and strident personality totally. He has some lengthy messages for the “troops” under his command and he punches each and every word home. Also good is Hill as the effete and annoying Azoff. Hill has certainly come into his own as a dramatic actor after much success in the comedy field.
Also notable is Margot Robbie as Belfort’s ambitious second wife Naomi. Rob Reiner is also surprisingly enjoyable as Belfort’s father. Kyle Chandler is not as good in his role as an FBI Agent investigating Belfort. He is a little too dry.
The movie is rated R for nudity, profanity, sexual sequences and violence. This is a hard R and borderline NC-17.
“The Wolf of Wall Street” is a very graphic depiction of one man’ decadent lifestyle and how he spreads his influence in these areas on to others. It is not for those who are easily shocked and I have heard of people walking out because of the content. Still I found it fascinating for its storyline and for the superb acting of DiCaprio and Hill.
I scored “The Wolf of Wall Street” a howling 7 out of 10.
