The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Except for one or two misses, Martin Scorsese’s films have always been fantastic in my opinion. From his earlier works with Robert de Niro to his more recent films with Leonardo DiCaprio, Marty has that unique touch that seems to resonate well with me. So it came as no surprise that The Wolf of Wall Street was a must see film for me. Given its R-rating and the way cinemas here in the Philippines choose films, I feared that if I were to watch it in the theater, I would get a very censored and edited version. Luckily though, some local malls decided to show the un-cut version, choosing film value over profit. Early reviews of this film have been mostly positive, focusing mostly on DiCaprio’s acting. After finally watching it on the big screen, all I can say is that Scorsese has done it again.

Based on the memoirs of the same name, The Wolf of Wall Street tells the story of Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker in the late ‘80s who founded Stratton Oakmont Inc., and turned it into a Billion-dollar company. The tactics and methods used though have caught the attention of the FBI. Scorsese has made crime a topic of his films countless times. It usually takes a look at the gangster/mafia route though. If not about organized crime, it’s usually about blue-collar workers as in Taxi Driver or Raging Bull. This would be the first time, at least to my knowledge, that Scorsese is dealing with white-collar themes, including white-collar crimes. At first it may seem like it won’t work because Scorsese has a style of direction that is somewhat gritty and crude. Luckily though, Scorsese’s genius marries these two conflicting worlds and blends them into an incredibly entertaining film.

Now as I mentioned earlier, Scorsese’s films tend to gravitate towards the crude and unsophisticated topics. This isn’t to say that Scorsese’s methods are simple, just that the way he presents his films and his characters it’s like he purposely tries to show the flaws of his characters. From Jake La Motta and Travis Bickle to Tommy DeVito, Bill the Butcher and Nicky Santoro, all the way to Howard Hughes and even Jesus Christ, Scorsese loves to shock the audience with his audacity in portraying the actors. Even with this though, none of his films seemed over-the-top in the sense that Quentin Tarantino’s movies are. Both show extreme violence and have a unique style of presentation, but Scorsese was almost always realistic in his presentation. No crazy sword fights or gang rapes with a gimp, just a cold, hard, dirty look at the lives of the characters, and the world they live in. With The Wolf of Wall Street though, Scorsese veers away from this, but still delivers an amazing film.

The film is a rambunctious, hilarious, highly-satirical look into the world of Wall Street in the ‘80s and ‘90s. While there is drug use in almost every Scorsese film, The Wolf of Wall Street goes to great lengths to exaggerate the drug use that it’s hilarious. And instead of Violence, Scorsese instead uses sex as his tool in delivering his message. The film might be quite a shock to some viewers, but it succeeds in its mission. Wall Street, for all its snootiness and delusions of legitimacy, is actually where some of the greatest crimes ever were committed, and I’m not just talking about financial crimes. Drugs were ever present, sex was ever present, and everyone knew it. Scorsese gives us a glimpse of just how it was to be in Wall St. by presenting such an exaggerated example. While the viewers will know that not everything they see on screen can be true, some of it actually is. Add to this the humor injected into the film by Scorsese. I can’t remember the last time I laughed in one of his films, but by deciding to make The Wolf of Wall Street a black comedy, the satire works perfectly.

This is the anti-Goodfellas in the sense that it is a very light film that deals with similar topics. Even the poster looks like the exact opposite of Goodfellas. While both posters have the lead actors in suits standing in the middle, the background of The Wolf of Wall Street is literally chaos, compared to the all-black meticulousness as seen in the dead body in Goodfellas’ poster.  The over-the-top drug use and sex is a satire of Wall St., and the message was loud and clear, thanks as well to the incredible performance of Leonardo DiCaprio.

It’s been 16 years since Jack and Rose met on the bridge of the Titanic, and yet Leonardo DiCaprio still doesn’t get the respect or recognition he so richly deserves. To the eyes of many, he will always be the pretty boy, who can only do rom-coms or love stories. Even the Academy has yet to recognize DiCaprio with an Oscar win after three nominations (which should be more in my opinion). This might be Leo’s year to finally win it though. His portrayal of Jordan Belfort was perfect for the type of film Scorsese wanted to create. It may seem over-the-top at times, but that’s exactly the message these two want to deliver. All the profanity, all the sex, all the drugs, they’re all exaggerated in order to drive a message home. This is definitely one of DiCaprio’s finest works, and his performance is complemented by the equally impressive performance of Jonah Hill.

While not my favorite Scorsese film, The Wolf of Wall Street certainly does rank up there as one of my favorite films of 2013. While I doubt that it’s going to win Best Picture in March (it’s 12 Years A Slave or American Hustle in my opinion), it certainly deserves all the accolades that it has received. Fans of Scorsese will notice his directing style and trademarks all throughout the film. From the use of freeze frame, slow motion, and amazing music, to the use of narration from the lead’s point of view, this is vintage Scorsese.

9.0/10