Good satire, excellent performance, good directing, but not for everyone.

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2014)

What is satire? Depends on who you ask, but to me it means enlarging or exaggerating certain aspects of something serious until it becomes hilarious. If perhaps in a dark way.
I did not want to see this movie at first. I feared it would be one hour of hedonism and debauchery of an essentially loathsome character, followed by his inevitable downfall. I was wrong. It was two hours of hedonism and debauchery. But to my surprise Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio used that to tell a darkly comical story. True satire in my book.
The story itself is quite simple: the rise and fall of New York Stockbroker Jordan Belfort, whose unethical business practices and excessive lifestyle make him a shooting star on Wallstreet; rising high, burning bright, until he falls down to earth, burnt-out.
One high-point of the movie is without a doubt DiCaprio's performance of Jordan Belfort, who gave him aspects of a hedonist, shady 'used cars dealer' and an obsessive and unstable cult leader. This was not a subtle performance, which in other movies would surely be considered overacting. But for a character who is continuously high on success or drugs, it works fine. I cannot help but wonder if Mr. DiCaprio's furious acting gave him the same rush the real Jordan Belfort must have felt while closing a deal.
Moreover, when the scene required it, DiCaprio's acting gave a dark but subtle undertone to very extrovert performances. In other movies, a scene where the criminal throws away a year's salary to gloat and mock the visiting FBI agents would highlight just how loathsome he is. Here it conveyed the increasing dread and desperation in Belfort.
Other performances were very good as well. Jonah Hill is an actor I mostly associate with rather wacky characters and the role of Donnie Azoff, Belfort's even more unstable friend and partner fits him like a glove. Kyle Chandler fulfilled the role of Agent Denham well. Though his screen time was somewhat limited, his performance in the scenes with DiCaprio was not lacking, giving the character the introversion, integrity and stability one would expect of Belfort's complete opposite.
That said, most of the other characters are not that interesting, mostly there just give Belfort someone to interact with and display his character and thoughts that that moment. As such, his inner circle of employees, while generally funny characters and sometimes even plot-relevant, are rather flat and mostly resemble obsessive cult followers (even more so for in regards to the rest of Belfort's employees, seem to be screaming fanatics, though one can argue it is part of the satire). The one character who was different was Chester Ming (Kenneth Choi). Though less screen time than his colleagues, he stood out for seeming to be much more composed and level headed, but also more brutal. I would have thought he would further develop into some kind of loyal enforcer, but noting more came from it.
Naomi Lapaglia (Margot Robbie) fulfilled a role as one of Belfort's interaction partners as his wife and, as she took the brunt of Belfort's instability in the final scenes, arguably the most important one. Nevertheless, the character remained shallow at best (You met him while he was still married, Naomi. What did you think would happen?).
The other highpoint of the movie was the Directing. As I said, the debauchery in the movie was excessive, but did manage to cross the line of overly lustful into disturbingly comical. The movie contains scenes and dialog that are not in any way relevant to the plot, but on second glance seem remarkably appropriate to Belfort's mental state. This includes non-sequiturs (the dialog on midgets), breaking the fourth wall (Belfort, repeatedly), slapstick (the scene at the country club), unreliable narrator (Belfort's little ride in a very expensive car, twice!) and even outright surreal scenes (the 'Popeye' cartoon). It doesn't always work. For example, I just didn't understand the purpose of the shot of the exploding plane (but than again, the character said I wouldn't believe it...).
In all, this movie was a very pleasant surprise. On the story alone I would give this movie a 6, but DiCaprio's performance and Scorsese's directing each lift it to a higher plane, coming to comfortable 8.
Still, this movie is not for everyone. The hedonism is very explicit, just short of pornographic. Substance abuse is abundant, and not portrayed as a bad thing in itself (though the movie loves to mock those who do not know when they should temper their impulses). Moreover, Belfort's character is essentially loathsome, preying on the vulnerable (and even the poor) to maintain his lifestyle, and one can argue if karma ever truly catches up with him. This is not a movie for those with sensitive morals.
This movie does not convey that greed is bad. But it does show that one cannot gorge oneself indefinitely without bursting apart.