Review: The Wolf of Wall Street

by. Joe Moss
★★★★

Much to the chagrin of my great friend Trevor, I must admit to everyone that I am most assuredly NOT a huge Marty Scorsese fan, nor am I a Leonardo DiCarprio fan. With that clarification out of the way I must say "The Wolf of Wall Street" IS THE BEST FILM OF 2013 hands down!! The 180 minute run time flies by as though on a cocaine high with a quaalude kicker. After I watched the film, I contemplated returning to the theater to watch it again just to be sure that I hadn't missed anything--it was THAT kind of SPECTACULAR!

The film encompasses the debauchery and pyramid scheming from the yuppie era of the late 80's that has made many of the Wall Street-based millionaires legends. Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) gets a job at a renowned Wall Street stock brokering firm working for the legendary Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) from who he learns the "three rules" on how to make it in the stock brokering world that is New York of the 80's. Unfortunately, his timing for his career happens to coincide with the crash of 1987--an auspicious beginning to say the least. But this doesn't slow young Belfort down, he rebounds working at a penny-brokerage firm on Long Island--and the rest is history in the making.

Belfort is hugely successful at the pyramid scheme that is penny stock options and builds his new firm--Stratton Oakmont, Inc.--with his newly found business partner, Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill). They take their 50% commissions off the backs of the "garbage men and postal workers" and live large. Belfort lives so large, in fact, that his wife Terese (Cristin Milioti) leaves him and his philandering ways behind once she catches him in the throws of foreplay with the nicknamed 'Duchess of Bay Ridge' (Margot Robbie)--wife number 2. They soon become the toast of the Hamptons as well as the highlight of most of the New York social scene.

As all success stories oft do, there must be a down side to all of this wealth. Both the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the FBI take notice of these loud and obnoxious brokers and ride them for 10 years, lead by Agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler). Finally, as the hammer falls, Belfort is looking at 20 years plus fines for fraud, embezzlement, insider trading, money laundering....and the list goes on and on. Do you think that is enough to stop the money machine that is Jordan Belfort? Well, for this point you will need to go watch the movie for yourself to see because I do not want to give too much more away...

I cannot begin to say how incredible Leonardo DiCaprio is in this film, perhaps the performance of his long career. DiCaprio truly immerses himself into this role and BECOMES Jordan Belfort. I found myself liking, despising, rooting for, and disgusted by his behavior throughout the film. Talk about a roller coaster ride of emotions. I am not sure if Leo has done any (or all) of the drugs that are mentioned in this film, but my hats go off to the portrayal of a man on the edge of a binge and in the throws of the neurological meltdown. I was so emotionally involved at one point during the film, I had to shake my head to remind myself it was 'just a film--' but like a great book, the screenplay drew the audience into the fricassee.

To that end, Terance Winter (mostly know for HBO dramas like the Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire), did an absolutely bang-up job on the adaptation of this book (by Jordan Belfort himself) into the screenplay. Coupled with the very capable cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto (Argo, Brokeback Mountain, Babel), the film transcends generations to truly give the audience a small glimpse of the 80's and 90's for the fabulously wealthy socialites in, and around, Manhattan.

I would be completely remise to not mention the incredible job of multi-Oscar winning editor, Thelma Schoonmaker (Aviator, Shutter Island, The Departed) a long-time Scorsese collaborator. I am not sure how she and Marty were able to do it, but they are rumored to have trimmed approximately 45 minutes from this film. I am not sure HOW or WHERE they trimmed from, but you cannot tell. This movie is SEAMLESS in its transitory flow.

Now, please remember this this movie is RATED R, please do not take your three 12-year-old sons to see this film (as did the guy sitting next to me). There is plenty of nudity and drug abuse to scar a person for life--but then again, that was the 80's and early 90's.