'Wolf of Wall Street' (2013) Review
Scorsese’s Addictive American Nightmare
Premise - “Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.”
Director - Martin Scorsese
Writer - Terrance Winter
Noteworthy cast - Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Favreau, Jon Bernthal, and Cristin Milioti
My thoughts - I think that many of Scorsese’s great works get better each time you watch them, but maybe none more than Wolf of Wall Street.
The first time you watch it you are mesmerized by the spectacle of it all. I mean how can you not be? It’s so easy to get caught up in the fun & games of the first half that you almost can’t wrap your head around the tonal shift towards the end. You get so swept up in this kid rising through the ranks of Wall Street & living out the American dream. You get swept up in the glitz & the glamor & the drugs & the partying & the beautiful women. Scorsese doesn’t even give you a second to catch your breath & question the ethics of everything happening, he’s just going at a breakneck speed.
It’s no mistake that the speed comes to a screeching halt towards the end of the film when Jordan’s world starts crashing in around him. We get moments where we have no choice but to be confronted head on about how scummy of a person he is - especially the last few scenes with Naomi. Scenes that are remarkably hard to watch when you know what’s coming. It’s Scorsese very clearly making you sit in this & not gloss over the heart of who Jordan is. It’s the same guy we’ve spent 3 hours with, but without the distraction of everything that we were fantasizing before. Just the raw version of Jordan and not only how he treats people, but what he really thinks about them.
It’s no mistake that Noami is the first of his victims that we actually see on screen. Imagine if Scorsese had devoted screen time to some of Jordan’s victims who invested their life savings into a worthless penny stock. It would be a completely different movie & not nearly as effective. Jordan’s treating Naomi no differently than he did every single person on the end of the phone, but she’s the first time we actually see him through someone else’s eyes & not through his own.
Like many, my first reaction when seeing this for the first time was “that second half was a real drag, but the first half was so much fun”. I am just as guilty as anyone of falling into the trap that Scorsese is setting - getting sucked into how cool Jordan looks in the first half & how much money he’s making.
Then, there is that legendary final shot - I mean talk about peak cinema! After having the real Jordan Belfort introduce Leo, he starts a seminar teaching people how to sell & get rich. Scorsese isn’t subtle about the fact that this seminar is PACKED. Then, the final shot of the movie pans to audience before it fades to black. We see the faces of those who packed a room to hear from a former “baller” and maybe just maybe learn how he did it so you can grab a piece of the pie for themselves.
We look at people like Jordan and long for the wealth they have (or had). We tell ourselves it’s the American dream when in reality he’s everything wrong with America. Yet, just like the audience, we can’t help but be transfixed as he teaches us how to sell the pen because we deep down want to be just like him. We forget everything else, we just remember the fun parts from the first half of the film.
The audience in the seminar sure forgets everything from the first half. Or maybe they don’t forget as much as they ignore it because they are in pursuit of wanting to be just like him.
So Scorsese leaves us with one simple question - are you going to fall for it? Are you going to chase what Jordan had like those in the audience? Are you going to buy into a system that prioritizes being wealthy over being a good person? Or have you already by spending three hours watching this monster’s life story?
How did it do at the box office? - $392 million worldwide ($116.9M domestic) on a $100M budget
Did it win any Oscars? - It was nominated for:
Best Picture
Adapted Screenplay
Best Director (Martin Scorsese)
Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio)
Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill)
It unfortunately won none of them
Where to watch - Currently streaming on Paramount+, Tubi, and Pluto TV