Martin Scorsese is one of those directors that's often times dubbed as a gem in American cinema. He's made it clear before that he has a strong, passionate connection with filmmaking. For me personally, though, most of his work falls under the "good, but not great" category, with the only exceptions off the top of my head being Hugo, Taxi Driver, and Aviator (and Shutter Island, but let's stick to talking about GOOD movies). His most recent release, The Wolf of Wall Street, is probably his most ambitious project yet, which is unfortunately where the problem lies, as it takes the shock factor of ambition for granted, forgetting to hold up on focus as well as development of fully fleshed out characters. With that said, though, does it still hold up on that ambition (and the power of its stellar cast) alone?
The film depicts the scandals of stockbroker Jordan Belfort, played here by Leonardo DiCaprio, who starts off working at Wall Street, but gets canned pretty quickly. His next attempt at work is selling penny stocks, which he quickly finds out earns him 50% of his sales rather than Wall Street's 1%. As a result of that plus his expert selling skills (translation: rip-off skills), he quickly makes more money than ever before. Before too long, he starts his own company, hiring a few friends of his and teaching them his techniques. Faster than you can say greenbacks, the company expands into easily the richest stockbroking company in New York. Along the way, however, Jordan runs into a few snags, including an FBI agent trying to shut him down, some emotional struggles with him and his family, and a series of consequences from many of the company's wild antics. But hey, what are these struggles to a man who can stuff his room full of willing hookers?
And that's where one of the major problems lies. Most of the conflicts in this movie seem to fly over the heads of these characters, which makes sense given how much wealth and power they have. However, when you get right down to it, there's really nothing gripping or suspenseful about any of this. Not that there should be anything suspenseful in this case, but I probably would have connected with the film if the characters had more relateable personalities to them. Keep in mind that this is centered around a man who started off as a typical civilian; he had a wife, he had a home, and he didn't expect to make that much, or at least not as much as he makes during his scandals. If you're not going to raise the stakes to make the conflicts suspenseful, at least let us see the emotional transition from a man who would typically be ticked off if someone stole money from his secret sock drawer stash to a man who's too rich to care. Instead, they just jump from a few scenes of them yelling to "DON'T CARE! NEXT SCENE!".
Maybe that wouldn't bother me so much, except most of the movie loses focus on the main plot and instead is focused on a long line of padded out madness; drugs, sex, alcohol, marching bands, playing giant dart boards with midgets.... This is some of the wildest crap to be put on screen. The problem? While it easily could have been reduced to keep the running time at about two hours, the film stretches it all out to a long three hours. I am a straight man and aroused by naked blondes as much as the next guy, but once you've seen one nude blonde, you've basically seen them all. Now, before you say anything, let me make two things perfectly clear. One, I'm aware that the majority of the scenes are meant to represent how mad Jordan was with his power. However, I still feel like just one or two of these scenes would have been enough of an indication; we didn't need ten of them. Two, I did enjoy the shock factor and the comedic value of the madness..... At first.
Now, with all of that said, you probably think I hate this movie, but there are a few things that did make the film enjoyable.
The main thing I like about the movie is the cast. Leonardo DiCaprio has been one of my favorite actors for a long time, and he brings a lot to the table here. He brings to life the self-confidence and charisma in a man that would make Gordon Gekko proud. On top of that, his constant breakdowns towards the final act is an emotional outburst only he could bring us. Margot Robbie is suitably snappy as Mrs. Belfort, and Matthew McConaughey makes a fun, albeit short, cameo in the opening. Biggest props, however, go to Jonah Hill, who hasn't entirely been the biggest standout in any movie of his, but steals every scene he's in here. He shows full dedication in a role showing aggression and a demand for respect, and the shock value of that doesn't come close to wearing off.
I also have to give the film credit for its final act. Many movies and TV shows of this genre make the mistake of placing us in this essentially mean-spirited and juvenile environment and keeping us there as if it's the best and/or only way to live. However, this movie shows the aftermath of all its madness, and without giving too much away..... It's not so pretty. As I mentioned earlier, most of the conflicts don't have nearly high enough stakes to match up with the power given to its protagonist, but the plot constantly raises the stakes until Jordan officially reaches his breaking point.
So, my overall consensus? If the film was a little shorter and created some relatability in its characters, I probably would have loved it to death, but as is, I still had a fun time with it. The dedication of the cast is outstanding, the comedic value of its "mad" scenes still comes through, and the aftermath in its final act does put it above many of its followers. If anything, I would probably recommend last week's scandalous flick, American Hustle, above this one, but if you've already seen that and you're in the mood for some midget dartboard, I'd say check this one out.
This movie is worth $13.
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