Movie Review: The Wolf of Wall Street

Review: The Wolf of Wall Street

In a much-needed break from the big-budget, increasingly repetitive superhero-saves-the-day action movies legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese takes us on a trip (pun intended) to hunt down the elusive white whale of ideology: perfection. Scorsese invites us to take a seat on the U.S.S. Wolf of Wall Street and experience an unfathomable world of drugs, sex, and shotty stock trades captained by broker Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio). For one minute shy of three hours we are subjected (at times) to Belfort’s Ahabian quest to capture and the perfect life.

Speaking strictly as a critic of the film independent from the books and real-life events, The Wolf of Wall Street closely parallels Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby Dick, the behemoth of a novel dreaded by literature students the world over which both tells the tale of Captain Ahab’s mad quest to slay the white whale that bit his leg off and gives the reader a painfully detailed insight into the maritime industry and whale biology. At times it even seems that Scorsese pokes fun at the novel, having Belfort stop in the middle of his Investing 101 monologues and say, “But you’re probably not listening to this anyway, and that’s okay.” Suffice it to say, Belfort caught me several times not listening to the investor babble, and that’s okay because it’s what makes the movie so much fun.

Yet, through all the fun and partying and money we watch the degradation of Jordan Belfort from an ambitious young broker to a corporate criminal whose appetites for drugs, sex and money are insatiable. Much like Captain Ahab chasing Moby Dick Belfort chases after the ideal lifestyle, the white whale that includes uncontrollable materialism at any cost with no accountability; both a driven mad in their pursuit. Belfort is a self-proclaimed Ahab who sails his doomed ship and crew over the vast and stormy seas of illegal stock market manipulation and drug addiction. By the film’s end we see not a Belfort who is ambitious to make money to improve his life, but a Belfort who cannot live without his “Ludes” and places his family in harm’s way in order to keep his sinking lifestyle afloat.

In the spirit of the Moby Dick comparison it is necessary to point out that at nearly three hours the movie, like the novel, is a behemoth that begins to feel a bit clunky and drawn-out. There are only so many times that DiCaprio taking drugs, talking about hookers, having sex with hookers, talking about drugs, and spending money is amusing before it becomes repetitive and overdone. Maybe that’s the socio-economic point Scorsese is trying to make. And while DiCaprio does a great job portraying Belfort and his whirlpool lifestyle it was another performance that was missing something, as if DiCaprio was simply acting out Belfort’s life on the big screen instead of bringing it to life.

The negatives aside, The Wolf of Wall Street is a must-see movie for the holiday season. With a fantastic storyline, a brilliant cast of characters, and enough sex, drugs, and stocks to go around the movie is a wild ride through the world of Wall Street and a fresh, colorful take on a subject that is often portrayed in the black and white of financial law.

Overall Rating: 8.8 out of 10