The Wolf of Wall Street

Directed by Martin Scorsese
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Rob Reiner, Margot Robbie and Jean Dujardin
In UK Cinemas January 17th, 2014

by Joanna Orland

Gordon Gekko is a pussycat compared to the brash Jordan Belfort, played fearlessly by Leonardo DiCaprio in Scorsese’s latest comedy The Wolf of Wall Street which is based on the real Jordan Belfort’s memoirs.  This high octane love letter to Cocaine and Quaaludes is fast paced and in-your-face.  The laughs are aplenty, but with a running time of 3 hours, this film often drifts into boring territory, dulling the audience’s senses nearly as much as Jordan is dulling his own.

The amount of debauchery that Belfort and his colleagues partake in is actually unbelievable, but the film is based in a harsh reality where people like Belfort and his cohorts really exist and are allowed to behave like this at their supposedly professional stocks company Stratton Oakmont.  They are such despicable characters that it can often be a difficult watch to sit through this film with its long length.  As a viewer, I felt no empathy for anybody.  Not even Leonardo’s character as well-portrayed as he is.

The support cast is as good as Leonardo’s lead, with Jonah Hill and his glowing white smile and live goldfish eating abilities, Jean Dujardin as a charming Swiss banker, Rob Reiner as an angry father, and notably Matthew McConaughey in a scene-stealing turn as the stockbroker who introduces Jordan to his lavish lifestyle.

This film is an electric spectacle, but flawed in its length, boring monologues, and distracting continuity issues.  It feels like an all-guns-blazing boys film rather than a masterful cinematic art piece.  Which is of course fine, but at 3 hours long, a bit less flash and filler, and a bit more empathy is needed to keep the interest throughout its entirety.  The humour and cast are what make this film enjoyable.  The debauchery and excess are a bit too much even for the most morally loose audience.