Hugely entertaining, if a little long

Rating: 8/10 (31 December 2013)

Martin Scorsese redoes Goodfellas in the financial sector. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jordan Belfort, a young man immediately smitten with the ruthlessness of Wall Street (at first represented by Matthew McConaughey in a hilarious cameo). After the market sees a startling crash in the late '80s, DiCaprio gets pushed out of the big leagues. He quickly finds a way in smaller markets, pushing penny stocks. He figures out ways, not all of them strictly legal, to make cash hand over fist. Soon, paired with new best friend Jonah Hill, he opens his own firm. All the rules go out the door as he pulls in millions of dollars a year, which leads to all sorts of drug-fueled mayhem. The draw here is the pure debauchery. It will surely offend some, but the pure spectacle of depravity is enormously amusing. The film really doesn't want to think too hard about the awful things that Belfort is doing, which is kind of a bold choice. Sure, he does end up suffering in the end, but, with all he experienced beforehand, the little bit of suffering seems almost worth it. It could easily be argued that it's a hugely immoral film, but I think it just wants to put us in the action. The film has an epic runtime, which isn't really deserved. I wasn't exactly bored with it (though I was feeling it physically), but it could have been shortened. DiCaprio gives one of his best performances, but I was most amused by Hill. Many will despise his abrasive character, but I thought he was hilarious.