[Movie Review] The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Posted on December 24, 2013 by thegrandshuckett in Movie Reviews // 0 Comments

Official Website Plot Summary: Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government. Director: Martin Scorsese Writers: Terence Winter (screenplay), Jordan Belfort (book) Runtime: 180 min Main Cast:

Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort
Matthew McConaughey as Mark Hanna
Jonah Hill as Donnie Azoff
Margot Robbie as Naomi Lapaglia

Review: by Anthony and Lee

The fact that The Wolf of Wall Street was the latest, highly anticipated project from legendary director Martin Scorsese paired with Leonardo DiCaprio as the main actor let us know that it was a must see and that we were in for a treat.

What We Liked:

The acting in The Wolf of Wall Street was a definite high point of the film. There was not a single lackluster performance in the bunch, but of course only a few were truly noteworthy.

After playing the role of obscenely wealthy Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, Leonardo DiCaprio made a seamless transition into the role of the equally obscene Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker who acquired his wealth through shady practices and kept it through even shadier failsafes. a part he played very well.

Jonah Hill was a great supporting actor in this film. Coming a long way since Superbad, his comedic chops have improved vastly. As Donnie Azoff, his scenes where he played it straight while delivering the craziest lines in the film were highlights for us.

With all the debauchery and moral ambiguity abounding in the male characters, Margot Robbie as Naomi Lapaglia, tried to bring a sense of rationality and common sense to the movie. She attempted to be the voice of reason to Belfort in discouraging his heavy drug use and cared for her children, even going to great lengths to protect them from their father if need be.

Apart from the acting, the movie was wildly interesting to say the least. There was nonstop action and multiple lavish parties, complete with every vice imaginable where price was no object. They really made the three hours seem to fly by.

The story was good, covering the true story of what seems to be the typical self made financial tycoon who gets into alcohol, drugs, women, and other pitfalls along the way, eventually falling to the familiar rock bottom. As interesting as it was, however, at no point were we rooting for the characters to succeed. We were merely waiting for his chickens to inevitably come home to roost.

We liked how the wardrobe for DiCaprio and Hill framed the beginnings and rise of their wealth. Early in the movie, DiCaprio was wearing a drab, baggy, gray suit, but as the movie progressed he began wearing bold, power colors, navy pinstripe suits, and huge faced, gold watches.

What We Didn’t Like:

It was a full three-hour movie, and there were definitely a few scenes that felt like they could have been shorter.

The movie was rated R, but it should definitely have been rated NC-17 at the very least. It was not meant for children at all. It was pure obscenity. From beginning to end, it was scene after scene of drug use, nudity, expletives, and corruption. For me (Lee), it was a dealbreaker. I couldn’t genuinely enjoy the movie because it was so disgusting and appalling. Even the most moral, upstanding character seemed to have no qualms about the utter and complete debauchery in which the other characters were partaking.

Summary

The Wolf of Wall Street was, in a word, obscene. It was certainly an interesting story, showing the rise and fall of a bunch of morally lost characters, and had great acting, but it went way over its R rating.

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