The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013) * * * *

Directed by:  Martin Scorsese

Starring:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Jean Dujardin, Rob Reiner

"I made $49 million last year, which really pissed me off because it means I made just under a million a week."   Those words come from Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio), a brokerage firm founder who flourished in the 1990's only to be undone by an FBI investigation and his refusal to cooperate in it.    What led to such poor judgment was the ludicrous amount of drugs Jordan either ingested, snorted, or smoked daily simply to function.     The Wolf of Wall Street is a story of what happens when an unquenchable need for power and money collide with insatiable drug use.    Jordan Belfort's trouble is he was unable to keep up with neither.   The movie itself goes full throttle and its nearly three-hour running time flies by; replete with memorable characters (emphasis on "characters") who populate Jordan's life.  

We follow Belfort's story from his beginnings as a Wall Street broker in the late 1980's.    He is mentored by Mark Hanna (McConaughey), a senior broker who tells him how to make money in the stock market and how to stay sane in such a world by partaking in drugs and alcohol.    "This is not a job that anyone can do straight," he advises Jordan.    Then comes the 1987 stock market crash which forces the now unemployed Jordan to take a job at a lowly Long Island storefront stock brokerage firm trading in penny stocks.    He wows his fellow brokers by landing big orders and even bigger commissions.    Soon, Jordan forms his own stock brokerage firm with a group of goofy, but loyal locals including Donnie Azoff (Hill), who quits his job at a diner after one meeting with Jordan and becomes his devoted right-hand man.

The firm, named Stratton-Oakmont in order to sound more prestigious, grows by leaps and bounds thanks to Jordan's sales wizardry and his ability to motivate his employees with sales meetings which could easily be mistaken for Nazi political rallies minus the racist content.     Jordan prospers even more when an unfavorable magazine piece on him is published calling him "The Wolf Of Wall Street".    Instead of ruining Jordan's firm, it creates a wealth of hungry and amoral job applicants willing to fly through a wall for their emperor.    The article's depiction of Jordan's dubious sales tactics catches the eye of FBI agent Denham (Chandler) and the SEC, which sets off an investigation.       

Jordan's drug use and lifestyle spiral out of control.    His scheme to hide money in a Swiss bank  falls apart spectacularly.    One night he overdoses on time-release Quaaludes which take effect all at once and render him unable to walk, or even crawl.     The physical humor in this scene is something you likely have never seen before.     When cornered by the FBI, Jordan becomes even more bold by refusing to honor his agreement to be an informant.    He has to know this will all end badly, but ego, drugs, and money have clouded his thinking.   We see a lot of that, and all we can think is:  "The poor schmuck."

Scorsese tells Jordan's story with manic energy and style, almost like it is on a drug binge itself.    The performances follow suit.   In order to evade the inevitable drain drugs put on them, the people in Jordan's circle simply take more drugs.   Jordan proudly narrates the story.    He doesn't allow himself introspection or slowdown.     He lost touch with his humanity long ago, which is detailed in a funny scene where he and his cohorts are planning how to use midgets as human darts in an office party.    His first wife leaves him because of his partying and cheating.    His second wife, a beautiful model (Robbie) who elicits reactions from guys such as, "I'd let her give me AIDS," soon enough grows weary of Jordan as well, mostly because he is an absentee father and cheats on her with hookers almost daily.

It becomes apparent that no amount of money, power, or sex will curb Jordan's insatiable hungers.    Jordan's never-ending quest for more lands him in jail and costs him money and his family.    I would say it costs him his soul, but how much soul does even have to sell in the first place?

Dicaprio allows us to be a witness to the depravity that is Jordan Belfort.    We don't like him, but we sure are interested in him, much like many of the other characters in the film.    Ever since Titanic, Dicaprio chose to take risks with tricky, challenging roles.     Instead of coasting on playing pretty boys, he stretched his talents to transform into a wonderful actor.    His work with Scorsese has only enhanced his skills.   He is at-home and confident and in The Wolf Of Wall Street, he never takes his foot off the accelerator, which could be said for the movie itself.     Does Jordan learn anything or take away any life lessons from all of this?  Probably not.     What would you expect from a guy who extolls the virtues of greed in a way that would shame Gordon Gekko?