goodfellas meets Casino

Rating: 10/10 (19 January 2014)

Let's start by saying that this movie isn't for everyone. Like usual in Scorsese's movies, this film is also filled with explicit scenes, explicit language and explicit everything, however the tremendous difference between this movie and most other explicit movies is that the wolf of wall street is not just a movie, but a piece of art.
Starting with the first scene I had an instant flashback to Casino, in which Scorsese also used the unique narrator-technique throughout the movie. Ironically Casino also had a hard time when it first came out in theaters, because just like TWOWS people were shocked by the explicit language and the amount of violence used in the movie. And yet nowadays Casino is seen a one of the greatest movies in the oeuvre of Scorsese. And I think this is also a bit the problem with this movie. Most people are surprised by how the movie is filmed and by the many nude scenes because of the fact that most people expect to see a biographical crime drama. But just like many of Scorsese's films this movie is a mere reflection of today's society and moreover it is a direct attack to the how Wall Street abused the people and money they had and how this lead to the many crisis the world is face with today. And this is were the protagonist of The Wolf of Wall Street meets the characters from Goodfellas and Casino. Like them Dicaprio's character doesn't want to be saved, he doesn't want to be a good guy. In fact he even chooses to remain bad when he is offered a deal to avoid jail time. And that is were TWOWS encounters Henry Hill (from Goodfellas. Hill also didn't want to be a hero, he wanted to be a wise guy, but in the end he had to cooperate with the FBI, just like in this movie. And this is why I believe this movie is without doubt a Goodfellas-Casino mix without any of the weaker point these movies had.
Overall this movie is definitely Oscar-material. Like usual it starts with the cutting and editing. Only one director in Hollywood has been so obsessed with the editing of his movies. Like Raging Bull The wolf of wall street has a number of scenes were the editing is just phenomenal. Also the soundtrack is once again perfectly chosen, Scorsese knows where to put certain songs and places for instance the happy song ça plaine pour moi in the dramatic rescue scene. And this is only one of the many examples. And then there is the acting, Leonardo Dicaprio performs at his best. This movie is once again an example of just how big an actor he is. But it must be said he is accompanied by none other than Jonah Hill, which was I must say an extremely dangerous choice as Jonah is not the star actor Leonardo is. Nonetheless Hill gives here a performance that will literally blow you away. And last but not least there is the directing. It is funny how even now no one asks himself is the new Scorsese good are bad? Instead you just ask yourself how good is he, because well, he doesn't make bad movies.
In conclusion it can be said that this movie is without doubt not for everyone, but it cannot be argued that this movie will without doubt be one of the greatest movies released in 2014.