An Excellent And Hilarious Black Comedy-Drama. Martin Scorsese And Leonardo DiCaprio At Their Best.

Rating: 10/10 (10 January 2014)

The Wolf Of Wall Street is an excellent and hilarious Black Comedy-Drama that combines amazing direction,a terrific cast,a wonderful script and a great soundtrack making The Wolf Wall Street Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio at their best.
Based on the book of the same name and set in New York City during the 1980s and 90s,The Wolf Of Wall Street tells the story of Jordan Belford(Leonardo DiCaprio),a Wall Street stockbroker who forms his own stock company and becomes more successful and living a life of money,drugs and excess. But as Jordan's life goes on he discovers that the F.B.I. and other forms of law enforcement are on his back which leads to Jordan's rise and fall.
Martin Scorsese's The Wolf Of Wall Street is a brilliant,funny and over the top 3-hour black Comedy-Drama and is not only another Scorsese classic but another amazing collaboration between Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio,it's a movie that is darkly humorous,truly demented and insane and very amoral and also tests your morality to the point where you can't take your eyes off the screen even if you want to. The Wolf Of Wall Street works not only as it's own film but also a terrific companion piece to Scorsese's Mob/Gangster classics Goodfellas and Casino in which The Wolf Of Wall Street are very similar to in style and storyline but whereas Goodfellas and Casino were about the violent lifestyles of Gangsters then The Wolf Of Wall Street is about the crazy lives of stockbrokers. Now,this isn't the first time that Scorsese has done a Comedy because years before he also did underrated films such as The King Of Comedy(1983)and After Hours(1985)but Scorsese goes even further with WOWS creating a movie that is energetic and satirical that you never know what's going to happen next with the story or it's characters and the Comedy is wild,funny and takes on a surrealistic tone that as viewer when you watch this film you will wonder did some of the stuff in the film actually happen. WOWS is a movie that will divide viewers and critics because of the characters actions and the many scenes of sex and drug use(which got the film an NC-17 rating before it was given an R-rating)some will feel Scorsese is glamorizing the lifestyle in the film. But I don't think Scorsese is really glamorizing anything in WOWS I think Scorsese is showing how success with some people can go so far that any person can fail and that is shown with Jordan Belfort because WOWS is not only a rise and fall tale but also a cautionary tale. The things that the characters in this do make the gangsters in Goodfellas and Casino look like model citizens in comparison. Scorsese and his editor the great Thelma Schoonmaker are masters at pacing and at 2 hrs and 59 minutes the movie goes by really fast and WOWS keeps you glued to the screen throughout making the three hour running feel like 90 minutes. The character Jordan Belfort is a character that viewers are going to love or hate you will love Jordan because of his ambitions to be huge and successful and you will hate Jordan for his own morality(or in this case amorality)with his excessive drug use,wanting more money which leads to his downfall. Most of the bizarre events in the film are seen from Jordan's P.O.V and you are along for a crazy thrill ride that never stops. When you watch WOWS you will ask is Jordan a tragic character or does he deserve his fate? It's a question you ask after the movie is over. The screenplay by Terrance Winter(creator of Boardwalk Empire)is amazing and very well-written,with Winter giving the movie great dialog and scenes that are funny and memorable and with Jordan's narration that speaks to the audience with a wild energy. The ending of The Wolf Of Wall Street is fantastic and effective showing viewers what happened to Jordan and gives viewers a bittersweet conclusion. A great ending.
The whole cast is wonderful Leonardo DiCaprio is excellent and at his very best as Jordan Belfort,bringing intensity and wild energy to the performance. Jonah Hill is brilliant and funny as Donnie Azoff,Belfort's right hand man. Margot Robbie is wonderful and sexy as Naomi Belfort,Jordan's wife and has great scenes with DiCaprio. Matthew MoConaughey is terrific in his small role as Mark Hanna,a stockbroker who shows Jordan the ropes. Kyle Chandler(Agent Patrick Denham),Rob Reiner(Max Belfort),Jon Bernthal(Brad),Jon Favreau(Manny Riskin),Jean Dujardin(Jean Jacques Saurel),Joanna Lumley(Aunt Emma),Cristin Milioti(Teresa Petrillo)and Shea Whigham(Captain Ted Beecham)give good performances as well.
The direction by Martin Scorsese is amazing with Scorsese bringing his trademark energy and style to the film with tracking overhead shots,close ups and freeze frames giving the movie a wonderful visual style. Fantastic direction,Scorsese.
The soundtrack in the film outstanding composing of many Rock N'Roll songs that match the flow and tone of the movie. Great soundtrack.
In final word,if you love Martin Scorsese,Leonardo DiCaprio or cinema,I highly suggest you see The Wolf Of Wall Street,an excellent,hilarious and excessive Black Comedy-Drama that is Scorsese and DiCaprio at their best. Highly Recommended. 10/10.