Great Story and a Legendary performance from DiCaprio

Rating: 9/10 (14 January 2014)

Films on real life stories or films based on books are not really 100% accurate as the way the events are portrayed in the movie is not exactly how things turned out in real life or how things are narrated in the book. Would it be fantastic if the real life incident or book portrayed in the film is completely accurately, of course. But that does not mean that changing the way the events unfold makes the film bad. This is where the majority of criticism for this film comes for. I personally do not agree with all that criticism, I watch films as a mode of entertainment and if a film successfully entertains me, grasps my attention, makes me get engaged in the story and characters and overall premise of their film, I will enjoy the film. So whether the films follows the book r the real life story 100% accurately is not a major concern to me. Regardless according to many outlets the films mostly stays very true to the books written by Jordan Belfort.
The people who were affected by the real life incident have a right to be upset, no question. But the thing is that the developers of this film wanted to fit the real life scenario in the film in such a way that a variety of audience would enjoy it and find it entertaining, hence some changes.
The storyline follows Jordan Belfort journey, as he became a successful stock broker who made tons of money and became rich adopting a different lifestyle. Than this film shows his downfall because of the involvement of the Federal Government leading to another change in his life. That's all about I can say without giving away the whole plot. Honestly the film did not need to go 3 full hours, there were just way to many party and nude scenes, and they did slightly hurt the overall narrative. Also is it even naturally possible for someone to have so much sex and drugs without any major health issues. This film forces you to suspend your disbelief to a level to enjoy it to it's fullest.
Honestly skipping several of these sections in favor of progressing the actual story would have done wonders. I mean we get it, Rich people like to party, do drugs, go to strip clubs, drink alcohol what not, so many sections showing that was not needed. From what I know Jordan Belfort, in real life worked inside a Boiler Room office i am not sure abut him having such a large high-end office as shown in the film. However these party scenes are not a bore for several reasons, one of them being comedy, these scenes are the charm of the movie and are very amusing and will bring a smile to your face.
Regardless of this the storyline is told well, with Belfort/DiCaprio dictating his past stories and his comments are not only good at progressing the plot but they are also humorous at times. One of my worries before watching this film was that the dialogue would be too cliché but I was wrong, it was kept simple and only tell the viewers what they would easily understand they didn't go too deep in the nature of deals which is a good thing. At times DiCaprio breaks the fourth wall simply stating simple sentences rather than confusing audience with Jargons that would confuse them further. The film also maintains a balance between humor and serious storytelling.
The film has a large cast and all of them play their parts well. Leonardo perhaps gives his best performance ever Jordan Belfort, and that is saying something because he always gives a good performance. Everything from Leo's narration to his acting, everything is almost perfect, he was just natural in his role, from his dialogue delivery, voice intonation facial expressions everything was done to perfection. Leo honestly, without question deserves an Oscar for this amazing performance, anybody who says he can't act should just watch him here. Jonah Hill is cast as Leo's supporting character and he does what he does best give a comic relief bring humor t the film and he also does his part to progress the story. The rest of the cast do a serviceable jobs, there are several faces I did not recognize in the film and even they acted well.
The film like I said goes for a bit too long, it's story could have been told in a half the time honestly but even then, the 3 hours do not drag because even the filler scenes are kept entertaining with humor and will still draw a reaction out of you, while the storytelling sections are engaging and perfectly progress the plot. In the end we saw a fantastic character development and a good moral message.
I would not recommend this film to everyone, it is full f content which could be considered offensive or inappropriate, so it could not be watched with family or kids. The people looking for a 100% accurate portrayal of the Jordan Belfort story and his books perhaps should look elsewhere, as there are some different plot points in this movie, but if you can make do with that, most of the story stays true to Jordan's novels, according to Belfort himself, so those people who read the novel may also like this film. . If you want an entertaining film with a great storyline and good comedy, and great cast and performances, give it a go, you will love this film.
In conclusion, I want to say that in my opinion, The Wolf of Wall street is a fantastic film, with a great story and is extremely entertaining from start to finish, without a doubt one of the best films of 2013. Overall: 9/10