By ANDY GILCHRIST
Arts Editor
“The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good.”
Michael Douglas’ legendary quote from the 1987 film Wall Street epitomized the late 80s financial philosophy of America: do whatever it takes to get money, power, and (hopefully) happiness. Then get more of it. Then more. More. MORE. Never be satisfied. Never stop accumulating. If you think you have enough, you’re wrong. Such a way of thinking will obviously never lead to true happiness and can only end badly, but what a ride it’ll be.
Martin Scorsese’s newest film, The Wolf of Wall Street, grabs hold of this idea and pushes it to the extreme. The film’s stock broker main characters consume inhuman amounts of drugs and alcohol, use the most vulgar language seemingly every other word, and are having sex in almost every scene. For a film that clocks in at one minute under three hours, nearly half of that seems to be Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jordan Belfort and friends living it up and doing their best to party themselves to death. But despite the epic runtime, the audience is never bored. The film seamlessly blends the debauchery with significantly slower moments of dialogue and character development to create a truly unique movie experience.
But, what are the ethics of telling such a story? The film devotes zero time to the victims of Belfort’s schemes, and those close to him who get hurt are given a few moments in the spotlight before being shuffled offstage. In a time when the country is still trying to recover from a recession, why make a film about a boiler room of brokers screwing people over and partying with their riches? Though the film is no doubt one of the most entertaining of the year, its overall message will likely leave many audience members cold.
The film opens with young stock broker Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) moving to New York to make a name for himself. Quickly finding out that Wall Street is even more cutthroat than he ever imagined, he almost gives up the world of finance. But he returns stronger than ever, using his superior sales techniques to manipulate customers into handing over their hard-earned money to pay for stocks that will never pay out.
In just a few months, Jordan and his equally soulless coworkers, including best friend Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill), establish Stratton Oakmont, a brokerage house where the traders swindle their clueless clients at the same time they have sex in the bathrooms and do coke on the desks. As Jordan’s life shoots upward, including divorcing his wife and marrying Naomi (Margot Robbie), with whom he had been cheating, he comes onto the radar of FBI agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler). As the feds begin to close in, Jordan’s life spirals out of control. But he’s addicted to the crazy lifestyle he began all those years ago and begins to hurt even those closest to him. It appears that the Wolf’s story can only end in flames.
The Wolf of Wall Street is the latest addition to the filmography of Martin Scorsese, one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Scorsese is at his best when telling stories of a man’s rise and fall, with Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and Casino ranking among his greatest. He’s not afraid of showing the darker side of success; in fact, he thrives on it. His films are known for their extremely course language and brutal close-ups of violence. While there is only a little violence here, there is more than enough vulgarity to make up for it. In fact, the film breaks the record for most f-bombs in a film ever with 506. Let that sink in. While the film at times seems to be simply treading the same ground as his earlier classics, the content in this film goes farther than Scorsese has ever gone before.
In a year that gave us such comedy gems as This is the End, The World’s End, and The Heat, The Wolf of Wall Street is easily one of the funniest films of the year. Whether it’s because of the acts being committed on-screen or the absurdity of what they are watching, the audience laughs through much of the three hour film.
The funniest parts include quieter dialogue scenes, such as young Jordan’s mentor, Mark Hanna (Matthew McCanaughey), pushing the rookie broker to adopt a sex and drug fueled lifestyle, complete with masturbating twice a day, to Donnie explaining to Jordan that, yes, the rumors are true, he is married to his cousin, but he explains why it’s okay. Then there are truly ridiculous moments, such as Jordan washing his hands at one end of the bathroom sink while another broker goes at a prostitute from behind at the other, or Jordan’s friends trying to calm him down as they get on a plane while he’s high on Quaaludes.
Many actors might be turned off or scared away by all the madness in the script, but Leonardo DiCaprio embraces it and pushes it even further. Having bought the rights to the real Jordan Belfort’s memoirs six years ago, stayed with the project when every studio passed on it, and ultimately serving as the film’s star and producer, The Wolf of Wall Street is as much DiCaprio’s baby as it is Scorsese’s.
Having built up an impressive résumé of wildly different, but all equally developed, characters since his break out 16 (!) years ago in Titanic, DiCaprio’s performance as Jordan Belfort may just be his best yet. Each time the audience thinks he can’t go any further, he does. Scenes of DiCaprio high on Quaaludes, acting like a frat boy blitzed out of his mind, are unlike anything he’s ever done before. One scene in particular, where Jordan and Donnie each take several of the legendary Lemmon 714’s, is perhaps the funniest scene of the year. But behind this party hard exterior are scenes of Jordan’s rage and sadness at his own life, scenes where DiCaprio truly shows his talent, cementing his status as one of the best actors of this, or any, generation.
Similarly, Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie are at the top of their game, doing the best work of their young careers. Hill, an Oscar nominee for his work two years ago in Moneyball, is equally award-worthy here for playing Donnie Azoff, a man always looking for the next big score and bigger party. Buried beneath glasses and fake teeth, Hill makes Donnie just as loathsome, yet entertaining, as Jordan, while also letting a darker side peek out every once and a while.
Margot Robbie, meanwhile, is the film’s true revelation. An Australian actress, Robbie gives filmgoers the best Brooklyn accent in years, especially impressive in an awards season that has seen Jennifer Lawrence receive numerous accolades and nominations for hers in American Hustle. Robbie’s Naomi literally bares all in in multiple scenes, showcasing her true fearlessness as an actress. Also, in a film dominated by powerful and mysoginistic men, Naomi stands as one of the film’s few examples of a strong woman, regularly standing up to the uncontrollable Jordan and talking him down to human level. This is clearly the breakout performance of a very talented actress.
But as stated above, why even tell this story? In a time when the country is still trying to recover from the horrible mismanaging of the economy by modern day Wolves of Wall Street, why make a film seemingly celebrating them? As the credits roll, most characters seem to have only been minimally punished and have received no redemption. Jordan Belfort may have lost his riches and family, but he still seems to be the upbeat, driven-by-selling man he was in the thick of it all. And even though he will reportedly receive no profits from this film, all money going to his still not repaid victims, the real-life Jordan Belfort will no doubt benefit from the film. So again, why?
Perhaps, ultimately, it was just to tell an entertaining story that stays true to life. The real Jordan Belfort served about two years in prison and is now back on the upswing with a successful motivational speaking business. To end the film any other way would have been a betrayal of the truth.
Also, it’s a slap in the face from real life. As Scorsese has said in multiple interviews, to give it a happy ending, with all the brokers punished, would have made it a run-of-the-mill tale of morality that ultimately would have been forgotten, and he’s right. But anyone who sees The Wolf of Wall Street will never forget it, specifically because it is unfair, because it doesn’t have a clichéd happy ending. This is real life people, a world where bad guys are not always punished and only the most cutthroat survive. Like Jordan says in the film, in a world where everything is for sale, if you have money and power, you’ll not only survive, but thrive.
Ultimately, the film succeeds because it is simultaneously laugh-‘til-you-cry hilarious and a disturbingly accurate portrayal of success in America. Both of these combined make The Wolf of Wall Street one of the most entertaining films of the year.
