The Wolf of Wall Street: The Leader of the Pack

Rating: 9/10 (9 January 2014)

Set in the 1980s, The Wolf of Wall Street tells the true story of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), and his desire to be rich instantly. Growing up in poverty, Belfort's only dream was to be rich, and what better way to do that than in stocks? At the young age of 23, Belfort and his wife, Theresa (Cristin Milioti), head to New York so Belfort could learn the ways of Wall Street. Being taught by stock tycoon Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey), Belfort quickly transforms from a mild mannered hometown boy to a drug addicted, adultering wolf, that is, of course, the stocks crash, Hanna's brokerage firm closes, and Belfort is out of a job.
Belfort's broking career looks bleak until his wife points out a small brokerage firm that is still hiring brokers. Excited about the opportunity, Belfort's hopes are quickly dashed when he enters the office of the firm, in a strip mall, and sees no put-together businessmen in thousand dollar suits, but he instead sees large, sweaty guys in collared shirts and sweatpants. Belfort's hopes rise once again as soon as the firm's owner tells him that the commission on the stocks sold, penny stocks worth six cents a share, is 50%, which means that if Belfort sold $10,000 worth of shares, he gets $5,000 straight into is pocket. Soon after Belfort makes a small fortune, he meets Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill), and together, they co-found Stratton Oakmont OTC firm, and dive deeper into the illegal world of drugs, hookers, and money.
The Wolf of Wall Street is simply one of the best movies of 2013. Definitely for mature audiences only, the rated R movie is, in my opinion, a boarder line NC-17 rated movie. The film can really only be described in one word: raunchy. Without going into detail, drug abuse and sex run rampant throughout the movie, of course along with the various other illegal activities.
In the days leading up to, and the days after the release of The Wolf of Wall Street, controversy about the movie began to rise. Many were saying that there is a case to be made that the movie glorifies criminals and criminal activity. Yes, The Wolf of Wall Street shows what happened to Belfort as his dove deeper into the criminal underworld, and yes, things looked pretty awesome. However, the movie DOES NOT glorify criminal activity, it simply acknowledges it. The highlife that Jordan Belfort lived through the majority of the movie is not the message of the story, the message of the story is what happened to Belfort in the final twenty minutes. The movie is not showing the rewards, it ultimately shows the affects of the actions taken.
In The Wolf of Wall Street, DiCaprio, in a way, once again channels his inner Jay Gatsby as he lives the life of wealth and parties. In a way, Jordan Belfort is very similar to Jay Gatsby from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, just 60 years later. Anyway, DiCaprio's acting is memorable, and is a performance that should definitely be acknowledged. While I personally think Tom Hanks' performance as Captain Phillips in Captain Phillips earlier in 2013 will ultimately win the Oscar, DiCaprio is, at least, worthy of a nomination. Jonah Hill is great in the movie, and the rest of the cast does a fine job. DiCaprio, however, is definitely the star of the film, and has a chance to end his Oscar drought (knock on wood).
Of the Christmas day releases (the others being: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Grudge Match, 47 Ronin), The Wolf of Wall Street is definitely the best, and is also one of the best of 2013. With the Academy Awards around the corner, I find it hard to believe that Wolf will leave the awards show empty handed, but I've been wrong before. While not living up to my expectations fully, The Wolf of Wall Street is nonetheless a fantastic film that is 100% worth seeing. Scorsese, once again, delivers a phenomenal movie, maybe his best since The Departed, which, ironically, starred Leo DiCaprio. I do, once again, have to stress that The Wolf of Wall Street is for mature audiences only.
Rating: 9 of 10
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