The Wolf of Wall Street

Rating: 8/10 (30 December 2013)

The Wolf of Wall Street promised to be THE film of this late 2013 year and indeed, I can tell you that it was a successful gamble. After Django Unchained and The Great Gatsby earlier this year, Leonardo DiCaprio is joining (one more time) Martin Scorsese in one of the most overwhelming film ever produced. The carefully set scenes of money, sex and drugs are efficiently paced by a non-stop and breathtaking rhythm. Which stops three times, based on several important parts of Jordan Belfort's life. His involvement in taking Steve Madden company public, his first divorce and when he tries to flee with his daughter. During the whole film a sort of sadistic atmosphere settles, little by little we can see the evolution of Jordan's character. He begins as a greedy trade connector and rise till his successful life as a wealthy stockbroker. A parallel narration is settled between Jordan and us as if he's trying to justify his criminal actions, it can be related to his thoughts, conscience or inner morale. It makes me think a lot of Kevin Spacey's character in House of Cards, who talks directly to us. In Wolf of Wall Street, Belfort is trying to explain why he behaved like that. None of the FBI's point of view is shown, only the "bad guy" is display here which give him more credibility. He doesn't appear like a real white collar criminal, like a real threat, because all he does is having fun doing what he loves the most: earning money. Moreover this year must be very prolific for DiCaprio. Leo's acting all along this more or less three hours long film is BRILLIANT and I don't know if it's Scorsese direction or just his talent but it makes the film works efficiently. Pointed out the moral and cultural decadence more than just the economic part of all this process. His "Empire" is compare to America : where you could choose to be who you want to be in a country where all you have to do his choose which opportunity you want. And obviously America always win. Jordan Belfort's fall involves both his private and public life. As on the one hand Jordan's wife is tired of all his excess (drugs, pills, sex, alcool, etc.) and decides to divorce. And on the other hand his implication in crime and widespread corruption on Wall Street and in the corporate banking world, as a result he is convicts of more than twenty official charges and sentenced to thirty-six month imprisonment. Wall Street under steroids.