The Wolf of Wall Street

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⭐ 8.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

I have been thinking of how amazing Goodfellas is recently, so I decided to use my afternoon off to watch this more recent Scorsese movie. When I say my afternoon I mean it, this movie is super long, but each scene really crackles with energy. It is so zany and fast paced and despicable it is impossible to look away from.

It is almost a modern retelling of Goodfellas - a young guy is obsessed with a certain lifestyle but is an outsider, works his way in, then gets to the top of the hill only to have it devour him. Instead of the mob, this is a guy obsessed with money and the power it gives him, so he becomes a stock broker and eventually becomes a whole lot more.

This is now the movie I will think of when I hear that money is the root of all evil. This guy and the people around him are complete degenerates, constantly overdosed on drugs and women. It is not for the faint of heart, and the excess of their lives is truly disgusting.

That being said, Leo is pretty incredible, somehow making you not completely despise this person because of his own charm. He is quite magnetic in such an unlikeable role, and I am retroactively shocked he didn't win the Oscar for this one. There are several standout scenes, but overall his character really undergoes a lot of change, and I was pretty blown away. Shoutout to the subdued scene with the FBI on the yacht, some really great back and forth as they kind of verbally shadow-box with each other.

One thing I was disappointed to learn is that this is based on a true story, and the main character wrote a book on it from which the movie was adapted, and the guy shows up in a cameo in the movie!? Like, this movie is about how disgusting capitalism in America has become, and the final shot kind of says who cares we are all still captivated by it anyways. And then I have to leave it thinking about how I am essentially paying the dirtbag who lived this actual life by watching the movie, and in some twisted way he probably doesn't regret the way he has lived because he is still rich and now famous. Just made me feel really dirty, and maybe that was the point.

If you want to spend three hours in a simulated cocaine-induced fury, this is the movie for you. I have a higher regard for Leo now, but an even lower regard for humanity.

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