One man's rise and fall on Wall Street, brilliantly played

Rating: 9/10 (26 January 2014)

The Wolf of Wall Street charts the spectacular rise and fall of Jordan Belfort, who goes from humble penny stock broker to multimillionaire and founder of his own brokerage, Stratton Oakmont. It's an adventure fueled by plenty of drugs, alcohol and sex, and we see Belfort's values change drastically along the way. As a broker, he wanted to create win-win situations for himself and the client, but it quickly became all about squeezing clients dry, even if it meant engaging in fraud. As a husband, he wanted to stay faithful but soon turned to hookers and later divorced his wife to be with the gorgeous Naomi, whom he regularly cheated on. The corporate culture he created at Stratton Oakmont strongly bore his personal imprint. Eventually, the long arm of the law caught up with Belfort and he found himself ratting on friends and colleagues to lessen his penalty.
I think this film gives fantastic insight into Wall Street culture: the testosterone-charged environment, the extravagant lifestyle, the lack of ethics and the close ties between men. The screenplay and acting were brilliant. Leonardo DiCaprio as Belfort was so persuasive selling those worthless penny stocks, and I loved watching his eager-to-learn friends hang on his every word. He exuded charisma when speaking to his staff at each important point in the firm's history. His bumbling friends provided plenty of comic relief as well. I also like how the story was told from Belfort's perspective, allowing us to get inside his head at certain points. The part where he entered "cerebral palsy phase" due to a drug overdose and drove the car home, thinking that no mishap occurred when he had actually caused a heck load of damage - that was hilarious. Although we roughly knew what the end would be, seeing it all unravel was no less exciting.