A Crazy Riot from Start to Finish.

Rating: Null/10 (10 January 2014)

I won't deny that I had no expectations at all from The Wolf of Wall Street. Martin Scorsese's films rarely work for me & the trailer for this one made it look like a cinema about party, sex & drugs on loop for 3 long hours. And The Wolf of Wall Street was exactly that. Booze, party, sex & drugs on loop for 3 hours and yet, I ended up really enjoying it & the biggest plus, never got bored for even a second, something that rarely happens when I'm watching this director's works. But this biopic of the infamous stockbroker Jordan Belfort has a lot of energy & madness written over it & is a crazy riot from start to finish.
Although a biopic, The Wolf of Wall Street is actually a film about excess. Excess of everything; be it drugs, money or women. It's vulgar. It's loud. It's dirty. It's funny. Actually, calling it funny doesn't do real justice because it's downright hilarious. And it's extremely entertaining. There is so much in the film that could've gone terribly wrong & would've turned it into a complete disaster but Scorsese's assured direction has masterfully rescued this overdosed cinema from passing out completely. And if Scorsese's direction is brilliant, then the lead performance of Leonardo DiCaprio as the stock market maniac, Jordan Belfort, is absolutely show-stealing & one of the best performances of the year plus he is exuberantly supported by Jonah Hill who makes an impression of his own as Donnie; Belfort's sidekick.
I think there is also a need to stress that this isn't a film that'll work for everyone. It never takes itself seriously and in a way, that's both a plus & minus for this film. What is going to work for one probably won't for another & what you want to watch in it is the criteria which will decide whether you'll love it or hate it. On an overall scale, thanks to Scorsese's stylish direction, hilarious script, clever use of music & insane performances by the cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street is maddening cinema that's already high on dope but still continues to snort more white powder every 5 minutes and, despite all the bullshit that this cinema is full of, it still finishes as one of the finest & most entertaining films of 2013.
Full review at: cinemaclown.wordpress.com