Jordan Belfort is a despicable person without remorse

Rating: 4/10 (28 February 2014)

I have not read the book, and after watching the film, I am really not interested in giving one cent towards the "Belfort Enterprise".I am really not sure if the reason I constantly got irritated during the film, would be linked to the fact that I just cannot comprehend people to be as void of any moral compass as Belfort and his gang.
This is probably why DiCaprio has been nominated for the Academy Award. His portrayal of this scum of the earth character is quite good, yet becomes quite predictable.
The thing that really bothers me about the Wolf of Wallstreet, is that although there are some hints of "regret and rehabilitation" from Belfort's point of view, it does seem like it rather glorifies the sickening business of pump and dump trading, prostitutes, group sex, chauvinism, drug abuse and general hedonism.
Although I don't have an issue per say with a hedonistic lifestyle, it is incomprehensible that someone who is entrusted with money from an already exploited public, could just throw it away with such ease and without remorse.
This is maybe why the film is quite a love/hate spectacle. You get furious with all the role players in this fiasco, especially Belfort as the film aims to portray the life of a ruthless young man who only has money, drugs and sex on his brain, while dragging dozens of others down the drain with him
At the end of the film, I had mixed feelings. I am sure that some of the scenes (for example the group sex and wild parties) were exaggerated either by Belfort himself or by the filmmakers. It really got a bit too much to see all these orgies, who I honestly believe is a figment of Belfort's imagination (or probably spiced up by the producers to make the film a bit more sensationalist).
Where the film succeeds though is the fact that it leaves the viewer hating what these people have done. There is nothing noble about Belfort, his pump and dump operation, or the way that he managed to get a slap on the wrist.The Wolf of Wallstreet made sure that we gain an insight as to where we should not invest our hard earned cash, and that the aspiration to earn millions comes at a high moral price.
At the end of the film, where Belfort appears at a Sales Conference in Auckland, I could only shake my head. There are some sins that should not be forgiven and some people that should never be trusted. This man is one of those that should be avoided at all cost.
To any aspiring business professional that walked out of the film feeling some form of adoration for this man, do a quick reality check and think of the stories that were not told in the film. The story of all those hard working people that lost all of their money due to these buffoons and their aggressive sales pitches and unscrupulous business practices.
Although the movie has moments of brilliance, the fact that it seems to try and portray Belfort as changed, and ignored the pain and suffering that his criminality brought to thousands of investors, left me a cold and annoyed. It seems like a glorified celebration of a wicked conman and his gang of useful idiots. This is why I can only score it a 4/10.
Probably one of the most difficult material Scorsese had to work with, especially given that this is a first hand testimony of an egotistical narcissist who probably will do exactly the same thing again should he have another opportunity. Yes, the film probably made millions because of this controversy, but Scorsese and DiCaprio should have probably taken the moral high ground and avoided falling into the trap of celebrating this conman. For some odd reason I feel like they are now, partly involved in the con, which is a sad thing to say for such an accomplished actor and director.