Scorsese gets ballsy again

Rating: 7/10 (29 January 2014)

After a flight into "general audience" land with the excellent 'Hugo', Martin Scorsese collaborates for a fifth time with the ever more dependable Leo DiCaprio, playing his second real life figure for the legendary film maker. Jordan Belfort came from nothing and built a Wall Steet empire like a true Gordon Gekko by, essentially, screwing over any sucker he could. The man did time, paid his dues, wrote a confessional, cautionary tale, and now performs sales seminars. None of this is spoiler; assuming you are at all interested in the topic, this should be unsurprising knowledge. It is also par for the course with this sort of Scorsese movie; you've seen the "rise and fall" riff from him a few times before now, right?
For the actor, everything he touches turns to gold right now; here he gives what is probably his most energetic performance, often invoking a young Jack Nicholson. Certainly an extraordinary, extended sequence involving the results of a narcotics overdose is due to be considered classic in no time! For Scorsese, the obvious touchstone here is 'Goodfellas'; the style of building momentum and "bad guy" narration is back, but again, the gangster epic remains the superior film. For both men as a team, 'The Aviator' is their obvious high point.
That said, there is much to be admired here: The excellent look of the film, the superb performances from Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughey, the latter of whom only has about ten minutes screen time but leaves a huge impression; the fantastic use of music, again reminding us of Scorsese's ability to compose excellent montages, which drive us forward without much plot, and a masterful ability to turn the tone of the film on a dime, if only for a moment. This latter point results in unexpected laughs and gasps of disbelief; a sense of comedy arises from what is frequently a simultaneously rather obscene and absurd set of circumstances and behaviour, which leave you feeling quite horrified and/or disgusted.
On the downside, there is no excuse for its length and, toward the end, an upset rhythm. Up to a point we are completely on board, but as the film enters its third hour and is only then truly exploring the repercussions of Jordan's actions, along with his humiliation, we become painfully aware that with some more intelligent and brutal editing, there was probably a good forty-five minutes of the previous couple of hours that could have been easily expunged, leaving room for more of the final act and bringing it in at an easy 135 minutes. Perhaps we should turn to Leo as producer here and ask, "Why didn't you say no to a three hour cut of this?"
'The Wolf...' asks for a lot of investment in a set of characters it is pretty tough to care much for, and with ultimately little reward. The film is an impressive effort, and undoubtedly Scorsese's most ballsy film for some time, but it is also disappointing; looking at his career, we all know that this should have been a five star film! The sense that this master of cinema could have done a bit better is not easily ignored. Nevertheless, there is enough here to make it worth your while when it leaves the cinema.