The trailer makes this look like a silly film about a rich banker who likes to play hard and work hard, and everyone has a wild time. I thought they were just showing you the funny bits, but actually the whole film is like that. It's a three hour comedy romp, and it's good.
The cult of personality around Belfort is the main excitement of the film, and you notice the lack of energy from the few scenes without Dicaprio in them. There's some crazy moments when he walks into a room and everyone goes wild with excitement, and starts shouting "Wolfie! Wolfie!". I'm sure the real Jordan Belfort (who has a cameo at the end in New Zealand) would have loved that.
Actually, I'm not sure Wolfie is such a good guy. He's a massive fraudster, and when he's in trouble he easily betrays all his friends. But then, they're not good guys either, and there's a hint that his best pal, played by Jonah Hill, is also working with the Feds. His gold-digger second wife leaves him when things turn sour, and although Wolfie acts surprised I think everyone knew she was a fair-weather bride. It's a shallow world they live in.
The madness of Wolfie's life means there's always something fun around the corner, and it's entertaining from start to finish. The main story arc of Wolfie's rise and fall is strong enough that I could do without the sub-plot of him stashing his money in Europe, which becomes a bit of a distraction with some odd cameos from Jean Dujardin (The Artist) and Joanna Lumley.
There's some classy touches, for example the bits where Wolfie turns to the camera and explains something directly. Overall, I'm going to rate it as the second-best Dicaprio-Scorsese collaboration. Here's my full ranking:
- The Departed
- The Wolf of Wall Street
- Shutter Island
- Gangs of New York
- The Aviator
1 Wolf
ReplyDelete2 Shutter island
3 departed
4 gangs
5 aviator