The Wolf on Wall Street

Rating: 10/10 (2 January 2014)

Based in the 1980's, The Wolf on Wall Street follows Jordan Belfort, a starting up stock broker in New York. When the firm he is working at crashes on Black Friday, he is thrown to the curb with almost nothing to survive on. When he applies for another job, he discovers the excellence made off of penny-stocks and from there, it is a roller coaster ride of adrenalin rushed cocaine fun.
Now, understandably, there is controversy surrounding the film. Citing that is making awe-too good out of a horrible situation, that is emphasizing drug-usage and prostitution, and other sorts of illegal activity. Now, I must say in someway I agree with the controversy.
Back when Django Unchained came out, I defended the film, in a post Sandy Hook environment, the filmmakers had absolutely no percussing knowledge of the tragedy, so I stood behind the film. But this is a film that I can say that they know of the situation, and they are glorifying it.
So this is where things get touchy; are the emphasizing it to notify it, or to have fun with a bad situation. Now, you are more than welcome to see either which way. Personally, I'm kind of torn on which way the cookie crumbles. But, from the environment and tone that the film presented in it's nearly 3 hour run-time, I'd say both.
I did in fact see this film as a parody of it and I mean a classic parody. Like Mel Brooks parody. What they did was they took a devastating situation and shined a different light on it.
Now, with the cast involved, people would have come out of the theaters commenting they didn't seize the opportunity they had at hand, if it was looked upon from another, more serious view point. So, either which way, people are going to come out peeved off.
The film is narrated and stars Leonardo Dicaprio, in one of the best roles he has to date. What the filmmakers do is a Ferris Bueller type of narration, in which he would notify the camera and actually talk to it.
The film also has an amazing supporting cast, with Johnah Hill as Donnie Azoff, Jordan's right hand man through out most of the film, Kyle Chandler as an FBI agent on Jordan's tale through out the second and third act of the film, Rob Reiner in one the best comedic roles to this date, and a cameo of sorts from Matthew McConaughey. All of whom knock it straight of the park.
The slightest nit pick I have is the way they took the narration though. In some scenes he's notifying the camera and in others, he was just doing it in his head. Another thing I would like to bring up is how self invested it got the drugs and sexual innuendo. Soon enough, it developed to the point that I was used to it, so that's something to say.
But either which way, just focusing on it from a film viewers perspective, it's a 10/10.