Cash, debauchery and the pursuit of narcissism

Rating: 8/10 (24 December 2013)

A third into the film, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) walks and talks to the camera as it tracks along the Stratton Oakmont office floor showing the exaggerated and frantic goings-on in just another day's work. Belfort tells to the audience that the office is about to release an initial public offering stock (IPOs) and proceeds to smugly lecture them about the term, but halfway through he cynically asks that we probably "didn't understand what he said", smiles, and disappears within the rabid office crowd.
It's this stone-cold cynicism that defines Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street", and it permeates throughout nearly the whole movie up until the final 15 minutes. We watch and wince in parts awestruck, in shock and in double takes (sometimes all three at once) as we witness the rise and fall of Belfort as he confidently narrates and provides commentary on the current situation being shown. Like two of Martin Scorsese's more popular films, "GoodFellas" and "Casino", "Wolf" relies on a cynical narrator who comments dryly on interesting situations. Like both movies, it has the protagonist working his way to the top for the first half of the movie - "Wolf" chronicles his beginnings by being advised by his boss (a brief but hilarious Matthew McConaughey) on his first day of work on the benefits of drugs and sex on the job; selling penny stocks for thousands after said job didn't turn out well; opening a firm with his ragtag pals and new partner Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill); and dumping his caring first wife (Cristin Miloti) and goes after a gorgeous fashionista (Margot Robbie). Once Belfort hits the top with the release of an IPO, in typical Scorsese fashion, it all goes downhill from there. The feds start paying attention, with one no-nonsense agent (Kyle Chandler) hot on his tail. Cracks are shown in the organization, especially Belfort and Azoff. Suddenly the hedonism inconspicuously transforms into the critical, and the actions of Belfort and his crew are then placed upon the judgment of the Feds and us, the audience.
All of these sequences are directed, written, shot and edited with a hedonistic glee and critical eye, never bucking down to genre conventions and techniques, always on the move. Scorsese hasn't been this lively since "Casino" and it shows with the terrific and brisk direction, extreme content and perfectly-timed and well-chosen music to go along with the madness that is Stratton Oakfort. To be able to contain such an impressive cast without them outweighing the real center of the film - DiCaprio - as well as juggling acts of debauchery with a critical eye on the desires of human beings - that is the feat of a great filmmaker. To be able to do so with such gusto and energy with a boldness not seen since the '70s, that is a remarkable part on Scorsese to not buck under the political correctness of today. If it happened like that, then it happened like that, why the need to neuter? This is not just on the part of Scorsese, but the very well-written screenplay by Terence Winter which crackles with whip-smart and sharp dialogue throughout; and Rodrigo Prieto's camera-work which bursts out a wide array of colors in every scene, going against the current norm of bleached, gritty looks in films and concerns itself for making the film look as vivid and lurid as Belfort's mind.
"Wolf" doesn't slow down the moment the film starts. What follows for a whopping three hours are one cynical and narcissistic act of debauchery after another. Not that the film uses its suggestive content (sexuality, nudity, drug use and language combined border on the hard R side) to wildly bombard the audience with excess, but a key role in ensuring the film is never boring is the editing by Scorsese's editing muse, the great Thelma Schoonmaker, who paces these acts so accordingly they seem like circus troupes of insanity lining up one after another for a performance.
The center of the whole film, not just the editing, nor the writing, nor even the direction or the amazing ensemble supporting cast (which includes Rob Reiner, Jon Favreau, Jon Bernthal and Jean Dujardin among others already mentioned), but the absolutely brilliant performance of DiCaprio as Belfort. Like Scorsese here, DiCaprio goes completely for broke in this performance, playing a despicable man so self-obsessed that both his best friend and worst enemy is himself. DiCaprio makes it a miracle to actually make us laugh at this character with his insane Nicolas-Cage-like performance (there is a 15-minute sequence involving DiCaprio and Hill, both coked out and arguing, that had the entire audience rolling with laughter throughout). He drinks, he parties hard, he snorts cocaine, he has wild sex, he gets a drug-induced trip, even in one scene he gets a candle put in an, err, interesting place. And the next day he's off to work in a suit after a snort of cocaine, as if nothing happened the previous day.
Like all great actor-director collaborations, they always work off each other's strengths to create something exceptional, and DiCaprio's and Scorsese's tandems bounce off each other perfectly, creating exceptional entertainment and an in-your-face look at how depraved the human obsession can really get. This is the kind of lifestyle that the brilliant documentary "Inside Man" told us about, but were afraid to show us. Now I know how it feels like, and although it is hilarious, it is also very, very startling.