What are the keys to success in life? For many, it’s happiness, ambition and personal success, but according to Martin Scorsese’s Wolf on Wall Street it’s more.
The Wolf on Wall Street can be easily summed up in three words: sex, money and greed, mixed with cocaine. Described as shameless, outrageous and unconventional, the film explores the depths of greed and the irony of how the consequences of our actions come back to us.
The film is directed by veteran filmmaker Mark Scorsese who has directed films such as Taxi Driver and New York, New York. The film stars Leonardo DiCario and Jonah Hill in the lead roles, the former of which having worked with Scorsese on other collaborations.
The Wolf on Wall Street, based on the memoir of the same name, is a dark comedy film that follows the rise, and later fall, of Jordan Belfort (DeCaprio), a stockbroker who builds an empire based on pump and dump schemes. Because of his aggressive pitching style, an interview with Forbes dubs him the “Wolf on Wall Street,” an action that not only attracts the attention of ambitious and young stock brokers, but soon the attention of the FBI as well.
With the mature content and themes, such as sex and drugs, along with showing greedy characters, it’s no surprise that the film is rated R, and with good reason.
For instance, throughout the entirety of the film we see Belfort slip deeper and deeper into the delusion of money. When he first began as a naïve and young stockbroker, the audience witnesses him tossing money at the FBI as if it were candy. The power of greed is further demonstrated when we see Belfort refuse to give up his position and stay with the company rather than pleading out after FBI agents had made their move.
Another more sobering theme that is discussed in the film is the consequences to the decisions one makes in life. Earlier in the film, we see Belfort’s father telling him a story about how someday all the “chickens” or consequences of the decisions he’s made will come back to him. This is seen throughout the second half of the movie when he not only loses his second wife and children because of his constant cheating and drug use, but when he loses his company for good when he refuses to give up all that he has accomplished.
Some of the other elements that made The Wolf on Wall Street worthwhile was its moral ambiguity. Every other scene is overloaded with sheer insanity including a half-naked marching band and chimpanzees. The film knows what it is, and in fact, Belfort breaks the fourth wall and literally talks directly to the viewer while describing one of his illegal, get-rich-quick schemes, saying, “Was it legal? Absolutely not.”
Another good element to the film was the acting ability of the ever-brilliant DeCaprio. In one scene where his character is high off a rather powerful Quaalude, DeCaprio must somehow climb down three steps and get into his waiting car. The scene is so believable and hilarious that it almost makes you feel like you’re watching a straight comedy on TV.
However, one of the weak points that I took away from the film is that some of the scenes actually felt too long. In fact, there were at least three different fake-out endings during the film that took away from the overall enjoyment of it. At many points, it felt like the movie had wrapped up and run its course, yet kept going. An annoying element was that the plot didn’t include the FBI investigations until about halfway through the film. While that might not seem too abnormal, at three hours, it felt like there should have been more detailed scenes involving their ongoing investigation instead of only hinting at them with one scene in the beginning.
That said, however, if you like the cast, the themes or just the sheer wackiness of the film and can still leave sober afterwards, then you definitely should it while you still can. The film is an investment. Though not for the whole family, it has value every time you watch it, giving you something new each time.
