The Wolf of Wall Street: Uncompromisingly Brazen Black Comedy

Ill gotten riches fueled by hedonistic greed and the downward spiral that eventually follows is cinematically exemplified non-better than The Wolf of Wall Street. The fifth director/lead star paring of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, the biographical black comedy refuses to pull punches in its telling of former New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort. DiCaprio is electric as Belfort, a stockbroker who became the face of Wall Street corruption around the 90s due in part to securities fraud and money laundering through his brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont. Earning millions through his financial scams, he also lived an extremely lavish lifestyle amplified by sex, drugs, carefree opulence and even more influxes of cash. This is all before catching the eye of federal agents including Patrick Denham, convincingly portrayed by Zero Dark Thirty star Kyle Chandler. Being the opportunist he is, he would author two memoirs giving his take on events; creating the basis of the film.

Almost three hours in length, The Wolf of Wall Street never feels excruciatingly long, mainly due to Scorsese’s break-neck pacing that never lets up. Part of what makes The Wolf of Wall Street such a captivating film is how over-the top it displays the things humans will do for limitless amounts of monetary resources and unhinged actions done to maintain them. Then there’s the glorified recklessness in-between of course.

Only DiCaprio could elevate his turn from cruel slave master "Monsieur" Candie in Django Unchained to charming antihero Belfort. Whether he’s giving sermon like inspirational speeches to foolishly ambitious brokers or playing womanizer to first wife Teresa Petrillio (Cristin Milioti) and quick second nuptial to Naomi Lapaglia (Margot Robbie), there isn’t an actor alive who could pull this off besides DiCaprio. There’s an overwhelming feel that the 39-year-old actor brings to every moment he’s on screen. Belfot and Denham’s first verbal mono e mono aboard his million dollar yacht named after his second wife “The Naomi” is a great testament of what makes Dicaprio one of the almost iconic actors of his time. Simply put, Jack Dawson lets his nuts hang.

Though all the attention will probably go toward Scorsese and DiCaprio, the biggest story of The Wolf of Wall Street may be Johan Hill’s portrayal of Donnie Azoff years down the line. Surface wise, Hill isn’t doing anything outside of the overweight lovable loser trope that’s been his ace-in-the-hole since Superbad. However, the added themes allow him to lend a depth that’s almost Oscar worthy. Hill perfectly paints a visual and vocal picture of a loaf, who later on becomes the key to Belfort’s downfall.

The epic lavishness contrast nicely to its dark underbelly is captured perfectly thanks to The Taxi Driver director. While the girls of Springbreakers robbed a restaurant for a one-week sexual escapade of Spring Break, Belt’s executive level thievery made partying almost daily. Even office life at Stratton Oakmont involves midget throwing, strippers, marching bands and pretty much limitless champagne. Scorsese does a masterful job of showing a fast life that’s as fascinating as the crash (if one sees it as one). Partly because everything feels as lavish and extremely excessive as Terence Winter’s stunning script suggest. If this is the R-rated version, what had to be cut to avoid an NC-17?

The Wolf of Wall Street truly feels like Goodfellas in a post-The Hangover world. On its own merit, there isn’t a character study one will see all year this nervy in execution.