Gone are the days when the line between good and
evil is easily distinguishable, when one can easily segregate the heroes from the
villains. The world now is fraught with characters who battle good and evil
within; thus further blurring the line between decency and indecency.
The Wolf of Wall
Street is the fifth collaboration of the lovely Leonardo DiCaprio and the legend
that is Martin Scorsese. The film opens with a preposterous ad for Stratton Oakmont (the brokerage firm owned by Jordan Belfort), and
then cutting into the dwarf-throwing scene at the trading floor as one of the
unbelievable activities of the stockbrockers while at work. Suddenly, the audience is shown snippets of how
outlandish and ludicrous this movie will be. It spells riot outright, and you may or may not love it. But, it will definitely be one hell of a riot.
Loosely based on the autobiography of Belfort, a broker who made tremendous money (around USD200 million) from the sale of penny stocks from
unknown companies during the ’90s, The
Wolf of Wall Street is a testament to the things that corrupt us from the
inside when we have the world at our fingertips, or at least, a portion of the
world through fame and wealth. Belfort, with his shrewdness and chutzpah, takes
pleasure in getting people’s money and transferring it to his pockets. He doesn’t
hide it, and in fact, he brandishes his wealth as if it’s the most potent force
in the universe. The movie is outrageous from the excessive amount of drugs, partying, cussing, and sex, and the concepts of filth that define the characters’ existence.
Scorsese was able to bring together some brilliant actors in this movie. Aside from DiCaprio, Rob Reiner (who plays his father Max) and Margot Robbie (who plays his second wife Naomi) deserve commendation. Reiner’s first scene in the movie is downright hilarious. Even Jonah Hill who is wildly floating in the bubble of his own space deserves the Oscars nod.
David Denby’s New Yorker review succinctly puts the movie in its proper perspective: “It took a sort of genius to conceive Belfort’s plan, talent
to realize it, and stupidity to think he could get away with it. The smarts and
the stupidity don’t coexist side by side; they overlap.”
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| Jordan Belfort (right). From http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ |
In hindsight, maybe Scorsese showed this movie to us, not for us
to really think of the boundaries between good and evil, between humanity and
brutality, or between compassion and cruelty. Maybe, it’s just a reminder of
the hunger within us that we are constantly trying to satiate. We can think of
food, wealth, acceptance, love, and admiration. At the end of it all, we have
something we wish to achieve, and we would do everything (and I mean
everything) just to make it happen.
Attorney, I believe Wall Street repeated its usual self in 2008, and had us all pay for it. I am a victim too of this greed. I've always been so preachy about what happened and denounced the greed of these guys from big banks and companies, and those reckless stock-brokers.
ReplyDeleteYes, i am a hypocrite. I think I would do the same. Food and shelter and clothing will never be enough. I would crave to have the world. Perhaps I'm paying now for my own greediness. So if i'm paying greediness, why are those big shots still living the prime of their life? I do pray that they will choke on those caviar eggs or drop from their yachts and drown in the sea or be eaten by hungry vicious sharks. Just a dream, nothing more.
Anyway, i will watch the film! great review!