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Written by: Terence Winter (screenplay), Jordan Belfort (book)
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Bernthal, Jon Favreau, Christin Milioti, Shea Whigham, Ethan Suplee
Rated: R
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Plot
Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort and his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption, and the federal government.
Verdict
It's impressive in part for how reckless Belfort lived and in turn how far he made it. With how much money he makes and how he lives, we know he's going to topple. He achieves the dream through sheer tenacity as well as duping people. He loses it through overindulgence and living beyond excessively. He reaches the point where money loses meaning, that point many of us like to imagine, but he throws everything away in that pursuit as he's more concerned about self satisfaction than anything else. He always put himself first, and even when he's caught, he's willing to sacrifice everyone else for his own benefit. It shouldn't be a surprise. Everyone else in his life has always been expendable.
It depends.
Review
Jordan Belfort pleaded guilty to fraud and related crimes in 1999, spending nearly two years in prison as part of an agreement to become an informant for the FBI. He published the memoir The Wolf of Wall Street in 2007.
It's crass from the very beginning, but it illustrates how Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) lives to excess in all things. He's so rich, he's reached the point of ridiculousness. From there this cuts back to his beginnings. Belfort was a wide eyed kid enthralled by Wall Street. He's ambitious though, and refuses any drugs or alcohol during a lunch with his boss. That's a contrast to what we saw in the opening. Matthew McConaughey has a limited role as Belfort's boss, but he does a lot in just a couple of scenes.
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| Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jordan Belfort |
Unfortunately Belfort gets his trading license on Black Monday, the largest one day drop in the stock market. He loses his job but finds work for a small penny stock firm. He's a salesman unlike anyone there has ever seen. He quickly takes advantage of penny stock commissions. While he becomes rich, it's not enough. He starts his own penny stock shop, and he soon realizes he could make a lot more suckering rich people into penny stocks. He hires his friends and creates a script for the salesman to do exactly that; dupe people. His friends are all too eager to break some rules and make some money. They also seems just as depraved as he is.
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| Jonah Hill, Leonardo DiCaprio play Donnie Azoff, Jordan Belfort |
Belfort becomes insanely rich rather quickly. He has more money than he knows what to do with, partying hard all the time. As reckless as he is, we know he's going to get caught. He drops his wife the minute after he sees Naomi (Margot Robbie) at a party. Belfort's still greedy, and each new scheme is more reckless. He spends two million on his bachelor's party; Vegas, drugs, and hookers. We don't know what Naomi saw in him. It might just have been the money.
The FBI begin investigating him, and that just means more illegal deeds to cover his crimes. You don't make that amount of money so quickly without cutting corners and Belfort cut a lot of corners. This isn't someone that cared about laws, principles, or other people. He's after money as a means of fulfillment. With that money he can and does overindulge. Money has given him everything he imagined and more. It provides resources, power, and fame. He also assumes money will get him out of his problems. It usually does but not this time. The FBI aren't interested in bribes. While we haven't seen him bribe anyone else, you have to imagine he's done it successfully off-screen.
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| Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jordan Belfort |
We're provided a scene near the end that encapsulates the world as Belfort sees it versus what everyone else sees. In a drug induced romp, he decides to drive his car from the country club to his home. He's so impaired that he can't even stand, but he succeeds in getting into his car. He drives incredibly slowly and manages to make it home without incident. At least, so he thinks. The police later pick him up and he discovers that his car is totaled. Belfort created a trail of damage in his wake, but it never bothered nor concerned him. It was all collateral damage in his pursuit of getting what he wanted and and achieving his goals.
When Belfort is finally caught and facing the repercussions for many of his actions, he agrees to cooperate and give the feds information to reduce his sentence at the expense of his friends. Belfort's selfish. It's always about self fulfillment. At the end, he just wants to protect himself. It doesn't matter what happens to the people he called friends as long as it will reduce his prison sentence.
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