The Wolf of Wall Street
2013
****½
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Bernthal, Jon Favreau, Jean Dujardin
After losing his job on Wall Street, Jordan Belfort co-founds Stratton Oakmont, a respectable-sounding company which makes millions from selling overvalued stocks, which is not strictly legal. Martin Scorsese has made several masterpieces about real or fictional characters who are difficult to like, and Belfort must be one of the most despicable individuals he has put on screen. The protagonist turns from an idealistic and happily married stockbroker to a toxic, debauched, sex and drug-addicted lowlife who would sell his own mother if it was beneficial for him. Leonardo DiCaprio captures the transformation beautifully in one of his most bombastic performances to date. Behind the camera, Martin Scorsese operates at the top of his game. This is not a didactic Wall Street story where the bad guys learn their lesson, but more like a stock market GoodFellas, which is fuelled with insane energy. The film certainly doesn't need to be three hours long, but it is solidly entertaining and Scorsese's funniest work by far. There are several set pieces which I'm sure will become enduring classics. Belfort was the inspiration behind Ben Younger's Boiler Room, and Terence Winter's script is based on the man's memoir.
