Review of The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) by Keenan S — 02 Nov 2014

The Wolf Of Wall Street is an electrifying, funny, ambitious, and glorious film. I loved every second of this balls-to-the-wall 179-minute masterpiece that is surely one of the best films of 2013, as well as among the best of the decade.

The story focuses on Jordan Belfort, a newly married young man just starting out in New York as a stockbroker at a large company. However, after only a short time working at the company, the company is closed down after the disastrous "Black Monday.".

He then becomes unemployed, but finds work at a small firm selling worthless, crappy penny stocks. Though at first he doesn't want this position in comparison to what he used to have, he becomes intrigued when he realizes that at that particular firm, the salesman of the stock gets a 50% cut of the earnings. He immediately hits it big at the firm when he begins to sell large quantities of these terrible stocks with his brilliant pitching methods, amassing a small fortune in the process.

However, he wants to hit the big time by being the C.E.O. of his own broker firm. When he meets a man by the name of Donnie Azoff, he decides to go into business with this particular man along with a number of other shady characters. They form a company called Stratton Oakmont which specializes in penny stocks and illegal trading methods, which immediately takes off.

Soon, Jordan's life becomes a whirlwind of riches, sex, drugs, fast cars, yachts, partying, and many other assorted luxuries. However, he wants to get bigger stocks to sell and his company's methods soon attracts the attention of the F.B.I. But Jordan feels invincible with his wealth and his methods, but he might be as invincible as he thinks he is.

The storyline is definitely engaging from start to finish, thanks to the well developed characters, snappy dialogue, and crazy scenarios that happen. It's a wild ride of indulgence and excess and every bit of that is portrayed extravagantly. Some will no doubt find the story amoral, but this is not a film for prudes and whiners, as it doesn't care what you think about its characters. The characters are total bastards and proud of it, and it's a hell of a lot of fun to watch them.

The acting is stellar across the board, but it's Leonardo DiCaprio's manic performance as Jordan Belfort that steals the show. His character is played so well and is so interesting and downright diabolical that it's hard to forget this character even long after you've watched the film. Jonah Hill as Donnie Azoff was also a brilliant performance and Hill continues to show just how good he is at comedy and playing outrageous characters. His performance was definitely a runner up to DiCaprio's performance. The other actors are also pretty stellar, but it's the two leads that really steal the show, as they should.

You want a story filled with sex, drugs, money, drama, comedy, and just about anything in between? The Wolf Of Wall Street delivers in all these areas to their fullest potential. There is not a single dull moment to be found in this film and I was absolutely glued to my seat for the running time of nearly 3 hours. It's a wild and exciting ride that never lets up until the credits roll.

When it comes to the comedy aspect, this film is absolutely hilarious in gut-busting ways. It will definitely rank among the greatest comedies I've ever seen because I laughed hard and I laughed constantly the entire time during this crazy and lurid ride. There is not one aspect of its humor that isn't funny, in my opinion.

In the end, The Wolf Of Wall Street is a superb multi-genre film that takes the viewer on a crazy ride of indulgence and excess and explores one of the most fascinating characters to be portrayed on film in years. It's electrifying and thrilling and I recommend it to anyone who loves this sort of film.