By Kieran Webber
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Screenplay by Terence Winter, based on the book by Jordan Belfort.
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey
Martin Scorsese’s 22nd feature film, The Wolf Of Wall Street, is a chaotic and exciting tale based on, real-life billionaire, Jordan Belfort (portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio) who’s life is full of sex, drugs, more sex and money – which in turn is covered in drugs. The opening scene pulls no punches and throws you straight into the debauchery with DiCaprio blowing coke into a prostitutes ring-piece; which was very unexpected – yet hilarious – and it only gets better.
A tale of morality that will have you questionably siding with Belfort, being jealous, envying him. This is a story of a man that has it all, yet nothing is ever enough. An addict in every sense, with money being his biggest.
Belfort started out as a stockbroker for the Rothschild, but on his first day the stock market broke down, struggling with the need to provide for his family he goes from the top to the bottom when he applies for the job at a penny stock investor. It is here he finds his calling in life, after making a lot of money selling “Garbage to garbage men” he sets up his own firm, ‘Stratton Oakmont’ in an abandoned Long Island garage. It was here that he would train his rag tag drop-outs to become the best marketers this world has probably ever seen.
By changing their appearance and following a script they swindled millions of dollars from the rich in America, helping him and his band of brothers to live like kings.
This allowed them to have a lifestyle that seems unimaginable, full of drugs and debauchery, it made the rock stars of the 60′s and 70′s look like choir boys. However, Belforts arrogance and addiction would be his downfall, when in 1998 he was investigated by the FBI for fraud and money-laundering.
The lifestyle is captured perfectly through the film, yet Scorsese is being accused of glamorising Belfort’s criminal lifestyle – which, with no doubt, the film certainly has, you are left envying his lifestyle, how can you not?
But this film is not only a story of one man and his rise to the top, it is the tale of the American dream, money, wealth and power, starting from the bottom.
This film is the American dream.
It leaves you deciding to side with Belfort or to side with the government, truth is yes he was a con-man, yes he was an arse-hole but he made his way to the top from near enough nothing and took money from some of the richest people in America.
The performances from Jonah Hill (who played Belforts sidekick, Donnie Azoff) and Leonardo DiCaprio (Jason Belfort) were truly a pleasure to watch and their characters bounced off each other very well through the whole film.
Hill manages to step up the challenge, even after only being payed £60,000 to play the role, Hill said he was so desperate to work with Scorsese that money was not an issue (unlike his character). It seems he wanted to prove himself as an actor, and he really did.
He also managed to prove himself as a method actor, with such scenes as the public masturbating scene, a plot that only he and Scorsese knew about, providing some realistic reactions from the rest of the cast. As well as the scene where his character eats a goldfish, Hill wouldn’t do it unless the fish was real.
DiCaprio, as usual, gave the performance of a lifetime and was extremely convincing in his role as the ‘Wolf’ of Wall Street. Not to mention Margot Robbie, who is as beautiful as she is talented, accepting the challenge of a powerful female role.
Overall the film was a delight and took you through a journey of the dark underbelly of Wall Street, displaying the reality of the American dream. With superb acting and a powerful and engaging soundtrack to accompany it.
If you are looking for something exciting, titillating and raw, then this film is for you.