The Wolf of the Wall Street - Movie Review

Martin Scoresese and Leonardo DiCaprio team up once again. The last time was for Departed, which gained an Oscar for best movie. Leonardo on the other hand missed out another chance for the well deserved statue. Now he gets another chance along with Jonah Hill, who also would deserve it. Many chances, but how high are the chances to win the trophy? Find it out in my review:

The story resolves around the Wall Street broker Jordan Belfort played by Leonardo DiCaprio. It's based on a true story and the biography with the same name. Jordan gains a prestigious job on the wall street. He learns the tricks of the CEO and about his life style. He understands fast that the world of money is about talking and dominance. He also learns the sweet part of it, meaning the drug excesses and gold digging whores that come with it. Everything looks great for him, but then the stock falls and everyone loses their jobs. Jordan needs to start anew in a teared down place with penny jobs. He climbs the career ladder fast up and established his own company with some friends he meet along the way. With his methods the small group sparks the interest of the big fishes and skyrocks to a big player. Everything seems to be perfect and the downfall begins. 

Jordan is a character plagued with greed and lust and every other sin. He cheats on his beloved wife and has orgies in nearly every scene. The movie is clearly aimed at a male audience with all the naked woman skin and the degrading nature they are depicted in it. It's also entirely about using and abusing drugs in a humorous way like the hangover movie, only that it is here isn’t meant ironically. The drug abuse is a huge chunk of the movie and the center of the jokes which I liked. Sometimes they were unexpected and dark. They are fun for everyone who can see over the morally illegal point and think about it in a fictional way. It's like the overuse of blood in Tarantinos movies just that it is here about power abuse. Jordan is a maniac who aims to high and consumes everything on his way there. He is cold and cruel, drugged by his lifestyle. His friends support his way and gain whatever he left them like hyenas. His dearest friend played by Jonah Hill is good for many jokes. He is a nobody that gets too high for his own good. He doesn’t have the charisma of the boss but is a true friend. In time of crisis, they support each other. Both of them live through situation that are self irony. All the other scenes that are serious are too long and feel uninteresting. You wish for them to get over with to pleasure yourself again in the fictional lifestyle that no normal man lives but dreams of.

The movie works because the actors are great. Leonardo is one of the best character actors and play the charming rich guy perfectly. His kids like choice portrays the childish behavior of the character perfectly, especially at the end of his downfall, the moment he loses control about everything. You see, his psych shattering and feel with him. You won’t pity the asshole, but you will understand his desire to change his fate. Jonah Hill also is great. He can tell jokes especially those that are about him. He tries harder as he can and always falls. The other actors are also great and make the movie feel harmonic like it happened really this way. The special effects are sometimes bad and sometimes dangerous. It depends on the situation, but none of them really matters. You probably won’t recognize them. What you will remember instead are the great soundtrack that gives the movie a great feel. You will feel the energy that the characters emit like you can grab it with your bare hands. The movie itself jumps sometimes in the time line, but is mostly sequential. The camera work is steady and fluent, without many cuts. It feels more like you see the movies through the eyes of Jordan himself rather than getting an impressive visual styled one like most epic movies are nowadays.

Give a man power and he will show you his true character. This is a movie that centers around it, with many jokes and terrific actors. The length of 3 hours is long, but it doesn’t feel so long. I can recommend the movie for everyone who can get used to the excessive life and doesn’t mind the abusive nature of all the illegal stuff going.