The Wolf of Wall Street
Since it is a film that well deals with money - to say the least- let me tell you that this film budgeted around $100 million and well, has profited around £15 million. How ironic, right?
So Wolf of Wall Street. The worst kind of wolf: the financial wolf. Perfectly fit title. After weeks of anticipation I finally went to cinema (alone …how very sad). I was so excited to finally see this, I had heard so much about it and with the Oscar nominations I was even more eager to see what the whole fuss was about.
In brief, this true story is about Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker who went from nothing to everything, using a little bit (a lot) of lies, great sales technique and self belief.
I thought I would leave the cinema with so much to say. But, I actually have found myself feeling uncertain. Not because I did not like it; I guess because I was perplexed by the whole experience and insight into this world. I have read some reviews on the film and whilst some are positive some are also very negative. Amongst the criticism was the fact that the film did not focus on the clients’ downfalls or that it was far too long or that it was glamorising excess and frivolousness. The positive reviews of course admired Scorsese’s directing and his wonderfully talented cast.
From my experience of going to the cinema I felt that this view was very much present amongst the audience itself, two people left half way through the film; whereas some of the audience raved on how much they love the film. With these two different views, I place myself somewhere in the middle. In essence, I would highly advise people to watch it, because I feel that with a film like this one it is very much about your personal experience and relationship with the subject matter and how you view it. I know what you are thinking, surely that is the case with any film we watch. But, I don’t know, I feel that this film is very much dependant on your personality and how you view things or what you want to get out of the film. One critic for example was disgusted by Jordan Belfort’s nature and he found he became more detestable as he became more villainous. However, I was both equally disgusted and seduced by Jordan ‘s “villain” like character (ok , yeah maybe it was slightly distorted by the fact I am completely infatuated with DiCaprio). But, I enjoyed watching character progression.
I found the storyline compelling , the pacing and length to be most suitable and fitting, the acting impeccable, the writing cleverly and subtly funny , the characters interesting and of course Scorsese depiction of the story, gripping. This film is exquisitely excessive in being excessive. And this, this is brilliant, because if it weren’t so excessive in every aspect, in acting, time, pacing, music, costumes and more, then it would not have had the same effect. The “jungle” like depiction is what made it even more thrilling. I think the film offers its viewer with a paradox of feelings. You don’t know what you are feeling. You know, the kind of feeling you get when you can’t decide if you love someone or you hate them or when you are even unsure which of these feelings you are actually experiencing. Or you know, when you can’t decide if you find that person attractive, or it is just desperation has set in that even a shoe seems attractive. Yeah.
As the story unveils, the characters become madder, louder, wilder , riskier and I could not cope with what I was feeling. I realise that all sounds very strange but I just don’t know how to explain it. There was a mixture of feelings stirring within me, at once I felt disgusted, then I felt seduced, which in turn made me feel both guilty and afraid. I mean the overtly exaggerated portrayal of sex, drugs and alcohol was so glamorised that it felt almost wrong to be slightly drawn to the idea. Not that in any way am I saying that I now want to engage in such activities. I think I will leave sniffing coke from a girl’s ass and then throwing money at her to the pros.
I could not help but think about George Orwell’s 1984 (and Mean Girls for some reason) and the concept of doublespeak; the concept where we believe a word to mean something that actually contradicts its true meaning. For example, “war is peace” and “freedom is slavery”. This is what the film is about, it is about this world that is based on paradoxes and hypocrisy, a world to which its victims fall and suffer the consequences of deceptions driven by thirst for money and power.
Wolf of Wall Street centres around Jordan Belfort and his rise to the top in becoming dirty filthy rich little wolfie. The characters supporting him further reinforce the superficiality and extravagance in the lifestyle provoked by such a world. I found the character arcs to be particularly well defined. Belfort’s voice over was an especially useful tool to us getting closer to him. His character was not so one-dimensional and villainous in my eyes, I felt that DiCaprio did an excellent job in portraying a multitude of emotions. The younger Belfort was sweet and innocent and would not touch drugs, but his longing for money, status and power blinded him. And this was the same for all his other associates such as Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill). These characters are portrayals of real people falling into such traps. Whether it is morally right or wrong, whether it is their own fault or not, is another issue and one which I do not feel I could so simply or loosely address here.
This film draws a fine line between greed and humanity, between having everything and having nothing, between right and wrong, between deception and trust and between love and hate. No wonder Scorsese needed three hours for this film.
I thought the performances were incredible, especially from DiCaprio and Hill. Their chemistry was undeniable and the way they assumed the characters was extremely credible and astounding. But then again I felt all the actors were so well cast and they depicted these genre of people so well (perhaps in an exaggerated manner, who knows, I have yet to meet such individuals). Some scenes were most impressive, memorable and frightening in the way that they captured madness and surrealism which is in fact, a reality.
I realise that the film orchestrates a symphony of moral debates. I personally feel that whilst the film evidently portrays one aspect of the whole situation and does glamorise its world, it does not necessarily mean it endorses its behaviour and outcomes. If anything, the constant narration from Belfort suggests a moral understanding. But I cannot say that for sure.
What I can be sure of is that this film offers such an array of emotions and feelings that I assure you, even if you do not leave the cinema completely satisfied, you will not be entirely disappointed. And if that fails, then you can always rely on the fact that it is a film that also happens to feature some ridiculously beautiful people who can act beautifully.
I could say much more about this and I am certain I have missed off some important things I could have further developed. But I have been told I need to edit my thoughts. Anyway, hope you do go and see it and that you have enjoyed reading this review.
Muchos love to you all.
P.s – you may want to read 1984 if my explanation of Doublespeak was not good. Also the critics I have referred to are from rotten tomatoes if you are interested to see what others have said.
So Wolf of Wall Street. The worst kind of wolf: the financial wolf. Perfectly fit title. After weeks of anticipation I finally went to cinema (alone …how very sad). I was so excited to finally see this, I had heard so much about it and with the Oscar nominations I was even more eager to see what the whole fuss was about.
In brief, this true story is about Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker who went from nothing to everything, using a little bit (a lot) of lies, great sales technique and self belief.
I thought I would leave the cinema with so much to say. But, I actually have found myself feeling uncertain. Not because I did not like it; I guess because I was perplexed by the whole experience and insight into this world. I have read some reviews on the film and whilst some are positive some are also very negative. Amongst the criticism was the fact that the film did not focus on the clients’ downfalls or that it was far too long or that it was glamorising excess and frivolousness. The positive reviews of course admired Scorsese’s directing and his wonderfully talented cast.
From my experience of going to the cinema I felt that this view was very much present amongst the audience itself, two people left half way through the film; whereas some of the audience raved on how much they love the film. With these two different views, I place myself somewhere in the middle. In essence, I would highly advise people to watch it, because I feel that with a film like this one it is very much about your personal experience and relationship with the subject matter and how you view it. I know what you are thinking, surely that is the case with any film we watch. But, I don’t know, I feel that this film is very much dependant on your personality and how you view things or what you want to get out of the film. One critic for example was disgusted by Jordan Belfort’s nature and he found he became more detestable as he became more villainous. However, I was both equally disgusted and seduced by Jordan ‘s “villain” like character (ok , yeah maybe it was slightly distorted by the fact I am completely infatuated with DiCaprio). But, I enjoyed watching character progression.
I found the storyline compelling , the pacing and length to be most suitable and fitting, the acting impeccable, the writing cleverly and subtly funny , the characters interesting and of course Scorsese depiction of the story, gripping. This film is exquisitely excessive in being excessive. And this, this is brilliant, because if it weren’t so excessive in every aspect, in acting, time, pacing, music, costumes and more, then it would not have had the same effect. The “jungle” like depiction is what made it even more thrilling. I think the film offers its viewer with a paradox of feelings. You don’t know what you are feeling. You know, the kind of feeling you get when you can’t decide if you love someone or you hate them or when you are even unsure which of these feelings you are actually experiencing. Or you know, when you can’t decide if you find that person attractive, or it is just desperation has set in that even a shoe seems attractive. Yeah.
As the story unveils, the characters become madder, louder, wilder , riskier and I could not cope with what I was feeling. I realise that all sounds very strange but I just don’t know how to explain it. There was a mixture of feelings stirring within me, at once I felt disgusted, then I felt seduced, which in turn made me feel both guilty and afraid. I mean the overtly exaggerated portrayal of sex, drugs and alcohol was so glamorised that it felt almost wrong to be slightly drawn to the idea. Not that in any way am I saying that I now want to engage in such activities. I think I will leave sniffing coke from a girl’s ass and then throwing money at her to the pros.
I could not help but think about George Orwell’s 1984 (and Mean Girls for some reason) and the concept of doublespeak; the concept where we believe a word to mean something that actually contradicts its true meaning. For example, “war is peace” and “freedom is slavery”. This is what the film is about, it is about this world that is based on paradoxes and hypocrisy, a world to which its victims fall and suffer the consequences of deceptions driven by thirst for money and power.
Wolf of Wall Street centres around Jordan Belfort and his rise to the top in becoming dirty filthy rich little wolfie. The characters supporting him further reinforce the superficiality and extravagance in the lifestyle provoked by such a world. I found the character arcs to be particularly well defined. Belfort’s voice over was an especially useful tool to us getting closer to him. His character was not so one-dimensional and villainous in my eyes, I felt that DiCaprio did an excellent job in portraying a multitude of emotions. The younger Belfort was sweet and innocent and would not touch drugs, but his longing for money, status and power blinded him. And this was the same for all his other associates such as Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill). These characters are portrayals of real people falling into such traps. Whether it is morally right or wrong, whether it is their own fault or not, is another issue and one which I do not feel I could so simply or loosely address here.
This film draws a fine line between greed and humanity, between having everything and having nothing, between right and wrong, between deception and trust and between love and hate. No wonder Scorsese needed three hours for this film.
I thought the performances were incredible, especially from DiCaprio and Hill. Their chemistry was undeniable and the way they assumed the characters was extremely credible and astounding. But then again I felt all the actors were so well cast and they depicted these genre of people so well (perhaps in an exaggerated manner, who knows, I have yet to meet such individuals). Some scenes were most impressive, memorable and frightening in the way that they captured madness and surrealism which is in fact, a reality.
I realise that the film orchestrates a symphony of moral debates. I personally feel that whilst the film evidently portrays one aspect of the whole situation and does glamorise its world, it does not necessarily mean it endorses its behaviour and outcomes. If anything, the constant narration from Belfort suggests a moral understanding. But I cannot say that for sure.
What I can be sure of is that this film offers such an array of emotions and feelings that I assure you, even if you do not leave the cinema completely satisfied, you will not be entirely disappointed. And if that fails, then you can always rely on the fact that it is a film that also happens to feature some ridiculously beautiful people who can act beautifully.
I could say much more about this and I am certain I have missed off some important things I could have further developed. But I have been told I need to edit my thoughts. Anyway, hope you do go and see it and that you have enjoyed reading this review.
Muchos love to you all.
P.s – you may want to read 1984 if my explanation of Doublespeak was not good. Also the critics I have referred to are from rotten tomatoes if you are interested to see what others have said.