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Martin Scorsese
December 25, 2013
While in his 20’s, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), an experienced broker founds his own firm. Belfort makes his fortune by scamming wealthy investors out of millions of dollars along with his dependable sidekick (Jonah Hill) and a merry band of brokers. But the SEC and the FBI are closing in on Belfort’s extravagant empire while he and his friends indulge in a hedonistic cocktail of sex, drugs, and thrills.
For those who are familiar with financial news, and it must be emphasized that The Wolf of Wall Street is based on a true story, it won’t come as a surprise that Belfort would soon see his empire begin to crumble when his apparent overnight success attracted the attention of the F.B.I. Belfort would eventually end up serving a mere 22 months in a federal prison largely for his refusal to cooperate with a massive fraud case.
Leonardo DiCaprio stands out amid it all as a preacher and a businessman, a man whose unquestionable slickness and commitment to success make you follow his every word, beat, and mood. It’s fun to watch DiCaprio in the movie’s opening scenes as he is taken under the money-bags of a cocaine-fueled fund manager, who is awesomely portrayed in an extended cameo by Matthew McConaughey. And even more fun to watch as the student becomes the teacher and DiCaprio’s character, Jordan Belfort, first aligns himself with the brilliant Jonah Hill’s character, Donnie Azoff, who changes from a blue- Margot Robbie, an Australian actress, offers a breakthrough performance as Naomi, Belfort’s trophy wife and, occasionally, a little, tiny amount of conscience.
It helps that DiCaprio gives himself up completely on screen, as if he’s never fully given himself up before. DiCaprio’s portrayal of Belfort is simultaneously hilarious, depressing, fearless, vulnerable, brash, and just plain fantastic. In this fifth collaboration with Scorsese, DiCaprio pulls off situations that hardly any actor could manage to pull off, with astonishing physicality in his comedy that enhances and prolongs scenes.
Believe it or not, Belfort now does motivational speaking and has written memoirs, and a lot of his fan base is on social media apps like TikTok. He acts like a spaz, putting on a facade for the gullible teenagers, but it all makes the movie even more believable.
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