The Wolf of Wall Street (2014)

When I was in my early teens I was sometimes allowed to watch certain 18-rated films. This is no indictment against my parents, far from it – they did not just let me watch anything I wanted – but there were certain 18-rated films that were deemed suitable for my young eyes, and I completely understand why. Films like Die Hard and Predator were violent, occasionally gory and laced with foul language, but my brother and I were mentally mature enough to understand that just because something happens on TV it does not mean it is acceptable to repeat in real life. We may have sometimes repeated the odd swear word to friends in hushed tones, but neither of us ever spent our recreational hours dropping German terrorists from skyscrapers, or tearing down jungles with large calibre machine gun fire. I have just this minute coined a term for these 18-rated films: ‘accessible 18s’. These are 18-rated films that contain bad language, violence that may be bloody but never sadistic or sexual, and no material that may cause undue emotional distress. Examples of two of my earliest ‘accessible 18s’ that I remember seeing are Terminator 2: Judgement Day and a copy of Die Hard with a Vengeance that my dad recorded off the TV (gentle explanation of John McClane’s “I hate n*****s” sign may be necessary). So when I entered the cinema to watch The Wolf of Wall Street, I wondered whether this too would be suitable for younger viewers; whether it would be an ‘accessible 18’. Well, as the morally bankrupt protaganist, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), so bluntly states after querying whether his business is legal: “absolutely not”. This film is bursting at the scenes with foul-mouthed tirades, very explicit sex and nudity, and so much drug abuse that Charlie Sheen would think it’s a bit over-the-top. As  DiCaprio put it in a recent interview with BBC Radio 5 Live’s Simon Mayo, “this is [Martin Scorsese’s] most hedonistic and debaucherous film to date”.

The Wolf of Wall Street is based, apparently very closely, on the biographical book of Stockbroker Jordan Belfort. The plot spans across a few years of his life, from learning the basics of stockbroking with Matthew McConaughey’s brief yet hilarious turn as Mark Hanna, to becoming incredibly, disgustingly rich through increasingly illegal  and immoral means. Belfort is “a kind of twisted Robin Hood, who takes from the rich and gives to himself”, as a journalist so rightfully says, and his journey to enormous wealth takes him through drug abuse, sex addiction, extra-marital affairs, countless insane parties, and right into the unforgiving scope of the FBI. This story is so ridiculously unbelievable that I was certain it was all fabricated, but shockingly it appears that it isn’t. This is a man who tosses hundred dollar bills in the rubbish like they’re sweet wrappers, swallows super-strength sedative pills like they’re Tic Tacs, and plays darts with dwarves in jump suits. It makes Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas look like Driving Miss Daisy.

The entire cast is strong and believable, with even former stoner-comedy familiar Jonah Hill giving a star performance. However, despite this all-round quality, the true focus here is on DiCaprio. Leo DiCaprio has been nominated for an Oscar four times, including three for the coveted ‘Best Actor’ prize, yet he has never managed to take home the trophy. He is one of the few actors in Hollywood who is consistently brilliant, and I maintain that he has not failed to impress since Titanic in 1997, which in my opinion is the one low point in a long and successful career. Whatever you think of DiCaprio, and however big a fan you consider yourself, I guarantee you have never seen him like this. He is absolutely bloody phenomenal, and undoubtedly delivers his best performance yet in scene after scene after breathtaking scene. When he’s on screen you simultaneously love him for his charisma and despise him for his callousness, whilst not being able to look away for a single moment. If you can stomach the debauchery, then you really must watch this film, even if it’s just for DiCaprio.

It is easy to see why DiCaprio is a regular favourite of Scorsese’s, and this film seems a well suited venture for the director who is so well acquainted with criminals and gangsters. Scorsese has never been considered a tame director, which is hardly a surprise from the man who created Taxi Driver and Casino, but there was a part of me that wondered if he had gone soft when he made the beautiful family-friendly Hugo two years ago. Well, he definitely has not. Hugo was just a short break from portraying the darker side of humanity, during which he showed us the wonder and love behind the history of cinema, before coming back at us with both barrels and a flamethrower. The Wolf of Wall Street is Scorsese on top form, and it is quite possibly his best film in almost twenty years. The visuals are bright, colourful and alluring, with stylish shots, fast cuts and lingering pauses in all the right places. The tone is so electric that you come away feeling as if you’ve been swept along through an incredible party, being led by a host whose charm and humour never wavers for a second. Despite the monumental running time the pace never slows, and the film is genuinely funny. Much funnier than I expected, in fact.

The running time, incidentally, is the one fault that bothered me. At 180 minutes, it is a very long film, even by Scorsese’s standards, and, as a result, you can’t help but draw to mind scenes that could have been cut. I like to think that I have a longer attention span for films than most, but as we approached the three hour mark, I did find myself tiring and waning. The non-stop partying nature of the film does not come close to getting boring, but when watching something so lively for so long your eyes tire, and for me that became noticeable and pulled me out of the film a bit. Terence Winter, who wrote the screenplay, is probably best known for his work on revolutionary TV series The Sopranos and Scorsese’s small-screen hit Boardwalk Empire, which is rather fitting, as The Wolf of Wall Street feels like you’re watching an entire boxset in one sitting.

If it were two and a half hours, I would not hesitate to give a five star rating for this film, but, petty as it may seem, the extra half hour does make a difference. I struggled to decide upon a rating for this; something which I generally grasp within minutes of finishing the closing credits. It is easily worth at least four stars, and possesses many qualities of a five star film – a rating that I do not give lightly – yet the length really was a big issue. I have spoken to several people about the movie, and every single one has mentioned the running time. One even said they thought the film was “okay, but not great”, only to then describe the huge extent to which they enjoyed it. When I asked why they said it was just “okay”, they said, “it was just far too long”. At the end of the day, The Wolf of Wall Street is an excellent film, and the brilliance of the script along with DiCaprio’s outstanding flair more than make up for the titanic running time. It’s not one for the prudish, but a must-see for everyone else.

Rating: 

Certificate: 18
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie
Running Time: 180 mins