The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)

The rise and fall of a hedonistic asshole. 

The DiCaprio and Scorsese combination has been in effect for over a decade now, and their latest offering The Wolf of Wall Street is a mish-mash of entertaining set-pieces and depravity that takes itself a little more seriously than it should.

There is an argument that unlike Scorsese's previous collaborating lead man (De Niro), the Leo experiment is coming with increasingly diminishing returns. With the exception of The Departed, none of the films have gone on for unqualified critical acclaim, there has been no Best Actor Oscar that is markedly missing from the talented DiCaprio's cannon and there is an argument to be made that DiCaprio's best work has been with other top line directors of the 21st century, Spielberg (Catch Me If You Can), Nolan (Inception) and Tarantino (Django Unchained).

I have always had a soft spot for DiCaprio and Scorsese is among my 10 favourite directors but this film just does not work for me. It is a mish-mash of scenes, some which hit and some which miss.

My problem with Wolf of Wall Street is that despite all the gags there seems to be a mean-spirited undercurrent to the film that is advocating this lifestyle and Jordan Belfort's actions. I compare this to something like Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice which has a similar vibe but with obvious tongue-in-cheek humour pouring out of the seams of every scene.

The Wall Street lifestyle definitely makes a fascinating canvas for a film, but I think Oliver Stone's 1987 film did it better than Scorsese here. Charlie Sheen's Bud Fox character is likeable and has a clear character arch whilst Douglas' Gordan Gekko plays perfect foil off this. I come back to that word 'mish-mash', Jordan Belfort is a mix of these characters and ultimately doesn't seem to know what he wants to be, creating a lead character that I don't know whether to root for or against.

There is enough here for me to recommend a watch but it won't be coming close to making any 'best of' lists for me.


BEST SCENE: Jordan & Mark's restaurant scene. McConaughey is on fire at the moment and he comes in and completely steals it in this cameo performance as arrogant Mark Hanna, chest beating his way to an Oscar in 2013 for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club.

BEST CHARACTER: Naomi Lapaglia - Margot Robbie gives a career-making performance as Jordan's trophy wife. I look forward to seeing much more of her in the future...!

BEST QUOTE: "Let me tell you something. There's no nobility in poverty. I've been a rich man, and I've been a poor man. And I choose rich every fucking time."

RATING:  ★★★ - Not a patch on Scorsese's best work. There are some positives here and I'm sure fans of Goodfellas and Casino will be glad to see Marty get back to fast-paced, entertaining crime genre films. Do I want to see another Scorsese/DiCaprio joint? Not really. I would be much more interested in Leo working with someone like Paul Thomas Anderson who has proven in the last 5 years that he can provide characters for top line actors to get the credit their talents deserve - Day-Lewis, Seymour-Hoffman and Phoenix respectively.

MOVIES WATCHED: 2
MOVIES REMAINING: 999