GUEST COLUMN: Review of "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Image: https://unsplash.com/photos/6Y6OnwBKk-o
Review of The Wolf of Wall Street
by Lewis Robinson
Martin Scorsese’s film The Wolf of Wall Street is a tale of greed and excess in the pursuit of the American dream. Although it’s the most successful film Scorsese directed, it created a surge of controversy upon its release. Critics slammed the movie for its graphic sex, drug use, and carefree attitude on white-collar crime. It’s not for all tastes, and it’s not a movie that you sit down and watch with the entire family. However, the film is lifted above the disturbing material by its talented cast. Leonardi DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, and Margot Robbie do not portray likable characters, but they’re so well developed and fascinating that you cannot look away when they make horrible decisions.
Humble Beginnings
Leonardo DiCaprio plays a middle-class stockbroker (Jordan Belfort) who lucks out and gets a job at L.F. Rothschild in 1987. Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) runs the wall street firm, and he teaches Belfort that drugs, sex, and greed are vital to a stockbroker’s life. McConaughey only appears briefly in the film, but his delusional advice and explosive energy are entertaining and hilarious to watch. Unfortunately, Belfort entered the firm on Black Monday when the stock market crashed. He loses his job and eventually must find work at a boiler room in Long Island selling penny stocks. His new environment is bleak and depressing compared to his high-energy job in Manhattan. The Wolf of Wall Street shows audiences the time before online trades and the hybrid workplace, but it does not make you pine for those simpler days.
Hard Selling
Frustrated that his new job is not as dynamic as his last one, Belfort tries a new strategy to make himself rich. He becomes more aggressive with his investors and convinces them that their cheap stocks are more valuable than their actual worth. When the price of the stocks skyrocket, Belfort quickly sells them and makes enormous profits. Belfort teaches his “hard sell” methods to his colleagues and eventually forms a new company called Stratton Oakmont. Belfort is nothing more than a carnival con man who defrauds his clients and gains wealth from their losses, but he promotes himself as a savvy broker. Behind the scenes of his growing empire, he and his employees engage in heavy drug use, orgies at the office, and even tossing little people against a giant wall of Velcro.
From Bad to Worse
Oliver Stone’s film Wall Street touched on America’s obsession with acquiring wealth at any cost, but it seems tame compared to the debauchery in the Wolf of Wall Street. After Stratton Oakmont is formed, Belfort and his immoral team members enjoy a non-stop party at their investor’s expense. His firm’s success soon grabs the attention of the FBI and CEI, and he works tirelessly to hide his wealth and evade the authorities while becoming increasingly addicted to cocaine and other drugs. Belfort’s life is a trainwreck of his creation, and you cannot feel sympathy when he keeps digging himself into a bigger hole. Watching 179 minutes of Wall Street decadence would be almost impossible without the film’s humor.
Despicable and Funny
The Wolf of Wall Street is a chaotic drama, but the long story goes by fast because of its clever dialogue and humorous situations. DiCaprio is a charming villain who stumbles through life while incapacitated by a long list of illegal substances. Watching him run a brokerage firm like a neo-Caligula makes you wonder how successful he could have been if he and his colleagues were sober. “Wolf” is not a film that glorifies drug use or immoral acts. It’s more cautionary than exploitative, and it shows viewers how easy it is for one person in an elevated position to steal money from thousands of investors. The real Belfort only spent two years in prison, and he now makes money by making motivational speeches to blue-chip firms. Scorsese’s American dream story is warped, but that’s his point. Corruption, greed, and despicable acts can make you rich in the United States without too many consequences.
