Retro Review: The Wolf of Wall Street

A Sheep In Wolf's Clothing

Even though we are past the midway point of the year, one film that has definitely stuck with me from early January is Martin Scorcese's comedy/drama The Wolf Of Wall Street.  Not only is it a combination of director and cast working at the height of their careers, but it also is a scathing indictment of the American banking system, the people that work within it and the love of greed for the sake of greed.

The film is a loose biopic of Jordan Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio); an aspiring Wall Street banker who just happens to start his career on the same day of a stock market crash. To find a way in the world and a way of providing for his family, he starts to sell penny stocks in the American pink sheets to the clueless public once he finds out you can make a huge commission off their purchases.

He employs a select group of low-time criminals from his old neighbourhood to pretend to be smooth Wall Street bankers in order to earn as much money as possible. Eventually, the amount of money builds and builds, as well as the reputation of the company, and soon, Belfort's small rag-tag gang of thieves resembles the established banks and firms that Belfort didn't have a chance to compete against.

If you don't understand stock markets, don't worry, neither do I.  However, Belfort speaks to the viewer early on in the film to say that you don't need to know. All you need to know is that they are doing very illegal activities. We are then treated to almost three hours of incredibly debauched events, featuring some of the most amoral, selfish and over-the-top characters that I have seen in a film.

The amount of crime and misbehaviour escalates to ridiculous proportions, with DiCaprio's Belfort making more and more money, paying for bigger and bigger houses and indulging in stronger and stronger pharmaceuticals, resulting in an extended scene of physical comedy that wouldn't be found in even the broadest comedy film. Immediately afterwards Belfort hosts a group meeting to discuss throwing a little person at a dartboard like a human dart, all the while snorting copious amounts of cocaine and treating $100 bills like tissue paper. It becomes laughable but there is always the reminder that this is based on real events in Belfort's life and it feels even more ridiculous.

However the fantastic aspect of The Wolf of Wall Street is that it is not all underlined with a heavy-handed moral lesson or comeuppance for these horrendous characters. The film treats you with the maturity to know that these actions are horrible and that something will happen to these characters in time, all you have to do is wait and watch. However the film does not pull punches with the reasons behind their behaviour; they do all these debauched activities because it's fun. These people are so empty and shallow, they have to fill the voids with prostitutes, drugs and just more money, and they have immense amounts of fun while doing it. Whilst some of the actions are deplorable, you as the audience can't help but go along for the ride and almost get a contact high from the people living the life you never could, much to your own shame.

The actors perform for Scorcese so well that you fully understand why their lives are so seedy and why the prospect of unlimited amounts of money is so appealing.   DiCaprio is performing at a career high, making a living now out of playing these debauched high-life types such as Calvin Candie in Django Unchained, Gatsby in The Great Gatbsy and now Jordan Belfort. His effortless charisma is incredibly evident and the partnership he shares with Scorcese again proves a winning combination. Jonah Hill performs against type as a nerdy schmuck, in awe of Belfort's lifestyle and becomes wrapped up in the madness that he encounters.  He is an effective comic foil for DiCaprio's Belfort, as he is essentially Belfort's hopes and dreams but without the good looks and the charisma, his basic desires for life but without the maturity and pathos to offset his amorality, and he deservedly earned the Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

The inherent message within the film will probably be lost amongst the general public; remembered for the generous amount of time dedicated to Belfort's devious rise to the heights of Wall Street and not the inevitable fall from grace that concerns the final third of the film.  Much like Goodfellas, Scarface and the original Dawn of the Dead, I fear it will be championed by viewers who fail to understand the messages held within; seeing the film as meaningless entertainment or at worst, an advocate for greed, debauchery and self-preservation.  The inherent indictment of America's corrupt financial system and it's influence on well-meaning individuals, not to mention the effect that Belfort's greed had on his faceless victims, will not prey on their mind. It is truly unfortunate that the film may become just a cult classic; Scorcese's post-Goodfellas commentary on the supposed American Dream, instead of being held as one of his greatest and more cerebral films about the nature of greed within an ultimately corrupt and failed system.

Until next time folks, thanks for reading!

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