The rise and fall of a Wall Street trader

Rating: 10/10 (22 July 2014)

I watched the DVD 3 times. The 1st time I was shocked and appalled by the language and missed details, which necessitated watching it a 2nd time. Then, accustomed to the f***word, I watched it a 3rd time to pay close attention to DiCaprio's performance, and to the characters who most interested me, FBI agent Denham and Mad Max, Belfort's father, both of whom provided the moral counterpoints. And, Yes, the gratuitous displays of hedonism and depravity are necessary for this morality tale. Scorcese, in an interview, said that Belfort's story depicts our culture. I agree. Our culture has been on a downhill slide for 5 decades and his film depicts one of the most egregious results - vultures run amok - of this decline.
Re DiCaprio's acting performance -- how is it that he did not receive an Oscar as best actor? McConaughey, best actor winner, was in "Wolf" and was excellent in his 15 minutes, but DiCaprio was excellent in his 180 minute performance. I did not see "Dallas" nor will I, but I suspect that Hollywood voters were in love with the subject matter and the impressive fact that McConaughey lost 47 pounds for the role and they voted accordingly.