Part comedy, part drama, Martin Scorsese's latest collaboration with star Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street, tells the real life story of Jordan Belfort, a successful stock broker who defrauded wealthy investors out of millions on his way to a life of luxury, complete with sex, drugs and corporate fame. When the SEC and FBI take a long, hard look at the Wall Street tyrant, it becomes quite clear that his life of excess is about to hit a brick wall.
The film, which features a strong amount of voice over work, is told from the perspective of Belfort. From his initial entry-level job at a brokerage firm to his up-close and personal introduction to the ways of success, the film doesn't skip over any details. Belfort's rise to kingpin of Wall Street wasn't without some hardship, and The Wolf of Wall Street is sure to showcase those (if even for only a quick moment). But even with their inclusion, the meat of the film lies within Belfort's success; his extravagant life of drugs, sex, and money are front and center from the onset. While Scorsese does well to pull out DiCaprio's comedic talent to poke fun at the ridiculousness of it all, the excess comes at a price -- most notably in conjunction with its runtime.
Coming in at just under three hours, The Wolf of Wall Street is one of the longest films of the year. While the story of Belfort definitely features a wealth of moving parts, witnessing the crazy and often psychotic lifestyle of a man with too much money and too little self control gets tiresome. The girls, the loud partying, the obnoxious behavior, its all fine in small doses; however, when you aren't drinking and partaking in the fun, the situation gets a bit annoying. It's like being the lone sober person at the bar, which is never a fun situation.
Jonah Hill, who plays Donnie Azoff, Belfort's trusted sidekick, does a decent job in keeping up with his costar though his inability to walk the fine line between abhorrent and funny is most obvious when he shares the screen with DiCaprio. There is nothing more humbling than being opposite one of the industry's most prolific talents in one of his most diverse and accomplished roles. In any other film Hill would likely be celebrated for his performance -- here, he's just too much.
On the contrary, brilliant supporting work is brought to the table by Jean Dujardin, Kyle Chandler, Jon Bernthal, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Favreau and Rob Reiner. Together they create a strong force, helping to move the story along as they each bring a different side of DiCaprio's Belfort to life. But still, even with their forces combined, none of them hold a candle to DiCaprio.
While Belfrot's story is a bit overwhelming and all together unreal, DiCaprio's portrayal is near flawless as he cleverly works the story to his benefit, intertwining drama and comedy at will and playing with his audience from start to finish. He refuses to take the film, or himself, too seriously, giving viewers a truly unique experience, and one that introduces us to a new side of the famed actor -- one that shows that right here, right now, he is still growing and perfecting his craft, giving us his most complete performance to date.
The film itself is a lot to take in. It often times reminded me of 2009's Middle Men. The only difference here is the quality of both filmmaking and acting. It isn't perfect, far from it in fact. But at its core, The Wolf of Wall Street is a solid film and a proud work by both Scorsese and DiCaprio -- even if I did leave the theater exhausted.
