The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

A New York stockbroker refuses to cooperate in a large securities fraud case involving corruption on Wall Street, corporate banking world and mob infiltration. Based on Jordan Belfort's autobiography.

karuss

Scorsese tempts you with this world, but he gives you little slaps that grow in power as things get more repetitive, empty, violent and absurd. But the ending, quite possibly one of Scorsese's bleakest, tells the truth that no one wants to realize within themselves: people want to be Belfort. Many people. Not even after knowing what he did. Many people want to be him and live his lifestyle. This stance on temptation is classic Scorsese, one of the most religious of filmmakers.

10 years ago

God

The country club scene was EVERYTHING.

10 years ago

Scratch47

Enjoyable but overrated, and a bit overlong. Scorsese is cruising on established formula here, and there's barely enough plot to cover the run time, but there are still plenty of fun moments and sharp points, and it's generally absorbing throughout, just nothing absolutely revolutionary, with the exception of DiCaprio who owns the screen and drives a lot of the film in an awards-worthy performance.. Overall? It's solid, yet I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have, for it being a film filled with scumbag characters getting wasted, there's precious little dynamics, grey area or even any sense of moral colour, and not a hint of real reform or hope that things might get better. Morally and emotionally the film feels rather one note, and the explicit content is a bit wearing. The end shot seems to suggest that we, the audience, clamor for this decadence, but I'd just hope that after this cheeky yet one-note fling in the land of the one-eyed king, that at least some would find that idea just a little bit boring.

EDIT - I enjoyed it a lot more the second time - the black humour really rings through, even if the characters themselves are literally impenetrably childish and empty, that seems to accelerate the absurdity. It's definitely still rather overdone in runtime and content (I'm far from a prude, don't give a damn about the cussing, sex or drugs here and really don't think anyone else should either) , but that might have been the point, and whilst the film's style is epic, brash, funny, paced, and very Scorsese, it's still a bit too long, simplistic yet overcooked and unsympathetic. A flawed masterpiece that deserves better than boring discussions over how many orgies are too many.

10 years ago

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