Wickedly satisfying.

Rating: 7/10 (23 January 2014)

The pairing of Leonardo DiCaprio with Martin Scorsese is starting to make Marty's collaborations with Robert De Niro feel like a distant memory. As if Scorsese was a different filmmaker then and now an imitation of himself. But nobody stays on top forever and this is an apt contemporary substitute for the films on the highlight reel of Scorsese's career. That said, The Departed, DiCaprio's third and most successful collaboration certainly belongs among Scorsese's essential canon, it seems The Wolf Of Wall Street is quickly gaining a reputation of apparently deserving a spot too. The cashier at the cinema even said that the film makes his top ten, not of the year, but all-time. It ostensibly has a dedicated fan-base already. But that tends to be the appeal of such dark material in an energetic, pull-no-punches but gloss-it-up style. Written by Terence Winter, Wolf unfortunately doesn't have the sophisticated grace and tension of his television show Boardwalk Empire, but instead it's a bewitching manic tale of excess through an excessive perspective. It's self-indulgent. But this self is infamous maverick Jordan Belfort and his, note this, white ferrari. It's like Mad Men plus Looney Toons. It's wild as can be.
All of man's temptations are here, money, sex, drugs and most importantly power. Even though the film is about something as dry as the stock market, it's all about the non-stop masculine energy and almost every office scene predominantly features boisterous extras jostling each other rather than working. But despite its graphic depiction of the sex and drugs, there's a distinct Hollywood sheen on it all that makes it hard to take seriously. Every shot in the film is lit and framed like a tabloid magazine cover. But this is all deliberate and merely the point. This is the type of shallow and impossible life these men lead and rather than inviting us to their celebration, it reflects their pathetic behaviour. Scenes run deliberately too long to push past the silly shock and consider the humanity. It's a very interesting way to approach the film, especially one usually edited so sharply, but it's sinfully un-cinematic for a Scorsese film. While we're presented with entertaining sequences of depraved characters indulging their vices, through all the glamour, it leaves you alone into how to interpret its moral code. At the very least, it's not preachy, and perhaps the film's acclaim is its own social commentary. It's something only Scorsese could get away with, really.
Ironically, the film is at its most captivating during motivational speeches by its blisteringly shining star Leonardo DiCaprio. During these scenes, he's never been more on fire in his whole career. It's the closest he's come to having his charisma be infectious, which is something, although he's a reliably great actor, that he's never quite had like his peers Johnny Deep, Brad Pitt and more. Overcoming the clearly inexperienced and weaker supporting cast that usually inhabit Scorsese films are a delightful and lively set of cameos from Matthew McConaughey, Rob Reiner, Spike Jonze, Jean Dujardin and Kyle Chandler, who really help the film combat its length. Margot Robbie is great casting as his wife with a performance thoroughly sincere, but the now bizarrely Oscar nominated Jonah Hill is a different case in that regard. He's definitely undergone a convincing transformation but it's difficult to tell when his character is serious, pretending for a joke or pretending to look serious. But perhaps that's the ambiguous yet frustrating point of his character. He brings an essential obnoxious quality to the film, which is a contribution to both its lurid yet endearing charm and unfortunately also the terribly irritating aspects of the film that don't work.
Hill and the male supporting cast are at their most useful when they bring the best in Leonardo DiCaprio, who truly earned his Golden Globe for Comedy with some spot on delivery and comedic physicality without feeling inconsistent. Although the film may drag in certain scenes as they ramble to get to their point, it leaves you wanting more, especially with its thought- provoking final moments. Even so, it's difficult to shake off the film without feeling guilty for the suffering of Jordan Belfort's victims. Maybe this is an essential global pity that they need to require retribution, or maybe Scorsese should've mentioned them in the film more to balance it out. It does feel like he's just trying to relive Goodfellas. There's no denying that it shares similar attributes with its kinetic camera-work, snarky voice-over, rocking soundtrack, monumental runtime, smoking money and kicking down of the fourth wall. But what could've been an exhilarating and devastating ride is just an engaging, intriguing and occasionally ghastly one. Perhaps he's compensating for the misfired Hugo. If so, fine, you're forgiven. The Wolf Of Wall Street is wickedly satisfying for now. Now give us something with weight. Bring us Silence already.
7/10