High ’n Low An obnoxious but glorified depiction of a broker’s over-the-top lifestyle BY SAMRA MUSLIM
Martin Scorsese’s latest offering The Wolf of Wall Street has divided audiences into two camps: those who praise the work as a masterpiece of cinematic verve and those who say it glorifies white-collar crime. While not quite the magnum opus some call it, The Wolf of Wall Street can be a black-hearted comedy, filled with parties, money, hreecorruption and drugs, which oozes energy throughout its threehour long running time. The Wolf of Wall Streett is based on the memoirs of Jordan Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), a lying, holic and drug addict who happens to cheating alcoholic know how to con people out of their money. When oving, he is lying. Belfort was a New York his lips are moving, nd founder of Stratton Oakmont, a comstockbroker and aged in securities fraud and corruppany that engaged treet during the nineties. tion on Wall Street First off, the performances are top-notch. aprio has proven himself to be Leonardo DiCaprio st versatile and engaging actors of one of the most his movie he has managed to evoke today and in this nd support for a character who compassion and ve it. DiCaprio has truly done more doesn’t deserve n terms of acting to win his Oscar. than enough in Jonah Hill is the standout as Belfort’s kick Donnie Azoff, bringing his psychotic sidekick nto the mix. Margot Robbie excomedy skills into cels as Naomi, likable and hated at once, and Kyle Chandler plays an FBI straight arrow well, teetering between hero and villain. Also of note is Matthew McConaguhey who plays the Wall Street aches broker who teaches young Jordan the ropes he film’s and conveys the e in his whole message an style Native American fore and ‘war chant’ before after a ‘raid’. d-fall stoAs a rise-and-fall ry, it has too much ‘rise’ gh ‘fall’. Although and not enough hould have been the real plot should al crimes in Wall Belfort’s actual m doesn’t Street, the film n that. focus much on 36 In fact, his FEBRUARY 2-8 2014
victims are never even shown, so the movie just ends up being a series of outrageous parties, and schemes that will keep their fortune and pleasures going. Right till the end, Scorsese does not seem interested in taking the focus away from the glamour. Oscar Trivia: • The Wolf of Wall Street is nominated for five Oscars: Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Jonah Hill), Best Achievement in Directing (Martin Scorsese) and Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (Terence Winter). • Martin Scorsese just earned his 8th Best Director nomination with The Wolf of Wall Street. The movie is also the 5th of Martin Scorsese’s last six films to score nods for Best Picture and Director, and landed Scorsese his 12th career nomination. • Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese have made five films together. Four of them have now earned Picture and Director nominations.
There’s also a lot of nudity in the m movie. The party office scenes are sso somewhat disturbing, especially the on o one where they pay a woman to ssh shave her head. The Wolf of Wall Street is not a ffil film for everyone — it is an over-thetto top movie about a larger-than-life cch character, with big dreams and high ho op He lived life fully, unapolohopes. geticallyy a and excessively. It is extremely funny a and entertaining for those with ‘the stren ng to live it.’ strength Rating: Ra at S Samra Muslim is a digital marketing professional, p an avid reader and a movie buff. She tweets @samramuslim