The Wolf of Wall Street

Rating: 10/10 (31 December 2013)

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese can never go wrong together. Scorsese is a legendary filmmaker. The late Roger Ebert even said that Scorsese has given us a classic each decade with Taxi Driver in the 70s, Raging Bull in the 80s, Goodfellas in the 90s, and The Departed in the 2000s. It's my pleasure to say that he's continuing that tradition with The Wolf of Wall Street. The Wolf of Wall Street is basically the biography of legendary stockbroker Jordan Belfort, who is an incredibly greedy and despicable, yet ambitious guy. My favorite quote of his in his narration when he says, "the year I turned 26, I made $49 million, which really ticked me off because it was just three shy of a million a week." That just shows how arrogant and confident this man is. But that's not it, because he also lives a life filled with drugs and desire. This movie is gratuitous and insanely realistic about that; it doesn't hold back at all and you'll know what I mean when you see this movie. It explores that world of rich Wall Street brokers who are extremely corrupt, and it does so in such detail. You witness the arc that is Jordan Belfort's life from his start as an innocent and ambitious stockbroker looking to make his way up in the ranks, to the peak of his life where everything is bizarre and extreme, all the way to his tragic fall from grace. Along the way, he's accompanied by some diverse interesting characters, sharp quick-witted comedy, and probably one of the most engrossing and fast 3-hour movies I've ever seen. This film is so entertaining and filled with such colorful characters. At the front of it all, we obviously have Leonardo DiCaprio with yet another Oscar-worthy performance. He's such a vibrant character in this movie and his energy resonates so well that it's contagious to the viewers. He plays his role so well that you stand behind him and love him because he's so fun and silver-tongued, but at the same time hate him because he's such a despicable person. While I expected a great performance from him anyway, this is one of those times where I started to not even see him as Leonardo DiCaprio. He was so phenomenally invested in the character that every word that comes out of him is gold. And then there's Jonah Hill, who plays his best friend and right-hand man, Donnie. If you thought his Oscar-nominated performance in Moneyball was good, then this will blow you away. Jonah Hill has greatly matured as an actor and he's absolutely spectacular in this movie. Like DiCaprio, he got lost in the role and you started to not see him anymore, but instead just see that character he's portraying. On top of that, there's an extreme amazing supporting cast. Margot plays Belfort's wife, and she absolutely nailed the east-coast accent. Matthew MacConaughey's there for a short time and he's awesome. Rob Reiner, Kyle Chandler, Jean Dujardin; they're all incredible, and add immensely to the completion and hilarity of the overall movie. And this movie is hilarious. It's that sharp and quick type of comedy that you have to sort of think of about. It's almost like a Tarantino movie in that respect. There are so many laugh-out-loud scenes and even some where you feel like you shouldn't even be laughing, but you do so anyway. The movie goes by so fast because of all the crazy and outrageous scenes. It's a long story but it's so fast that you don't really even feel the length of it up until the end. On top of that, this film is still a serious character study and biography of this man Jordan Belfort, and there are some very serious scenes in which the tone gets really dark. While there's so much fun going on, the film doesn't shy away from the consequences and what negative results can come from living such a lifestyle. In that, Scorsese so seamlessly blends these elements together and retains a consistent focus throughout the entire film. It's astounding how well the tone can change so drastically, yet the perfect focus can still be there, and it continues to show why Martin Scorsese is such a legendary director. He brings such great style to the movie, with vibrant shots and utterly bizarre scenes that just confuse you but draws you in. It's a really hypnotic film as all the bizarre things that go on just draw you in and keep you invested, despite the long runtime. It's fast-paced and the writing is stellar. There's quick and realistic dialog, as well as so many great memorable monologues. It almost felt like Pulp Fiction wherein it keeps you so entertained for so long just because of the witty dialogs and great words that come out of every character's mouth. The Wolf of Wall Street blends such great elements together and everyone involved in the movie works so well together. The serious drama and starkly opposite vibrant comedy blend so seamlessly, while still holding focus. And the directing of the movie complements the writing to the point where the momentum of the film just never stops. The writing works perfectly with the actors as they sell every word they speak as if they're selling you a stock share. The Wolf of Wall Street really sucks you in and shows you the lifestyle of these characters, sparing nothing as it displays the great successes, the bizarre occurrences, and the dire consequences. I gotta say: The Wolf of Wall Street is my favorite movie of 2013. I can't think of a single flaw. Jordan Belfort once said, "If you give people a good enough 'why,' then they'll figure out the 'how.'" Well, I just told you why this movie's great; now figure out how you're gonna see it.