After Goodfellas, it seemed impossible that Martin Scorsese would be able to top that gangster cinematic paradise, and then he produced 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street. Now, full disclosure, the 1991 gangster classic is this writer’s favorite movie. But there is something about the Leonardo DiCaprio tour-du-force performance as Jordan Belfort, the titular Wall Street financière who never met a corner he couldn’t cut.
Scorsese based his classic on the same-titled memoir by the movie’s subject, which documented Belfort’s rise and fall in the 80s and early 90s New York City financial boom market that saw him live like a king, complete with the so-called Duchess of Bay Ridge (Margot Robbie as Naomi Lapaglia, who would become Belford’s wife and mother of his children.)
After selling Penny Stocks, Belfort built a company that made hundreds of millions by milking average Americans out of their savings with the promise of a rich quick scheme based on the booming Wall Street market. Along for the journey is his right-hand man, Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill), and it is a ride. They fatefully met and were businesslike and personally attached at the hip for years. That is until the Feds started closing in on Belfort, the drug use on Azoff and Belfort’s part skyrocketed, and the title character’s real-life started spinning out of control.
The Wolf of Wall Street is Scorsese’s indictment of unbridled American capitalism and greed. It is told with compelling characters and filled with hilarious and debauchery moments that will entertain beyond belief. The entire picture is pure joy from beginning to end and every single character from the smallest player to the walk-on is on their A-game. In my opinion, DiCaprio deserved the Oscar for The Wolf of Wall Street as it is a hurricane of a turn by an actor who is among our best. Hill meets him note for note and it was this film that put him on the map beyond the kid in the Judd Apatow movies who makes us laugh. His entire career has changed since the Scorsese film has come out. He can recently be seen in Chris McKay’s climate change satire Don’t Look Up.
DiCaprio and Hill are two peas in a pod and from the moment they meet onscreen, it is a match made in heaven. The two actors are symbiotic and collectively wow the audience beyond what seems humanly possible. The scene when they take too many quaaludes may be the simultaneously hilarious and nerve-wracking scene of the last 20 years. Only Scorsese could pull that off in the manner he did with the songs he chose and the way he shot it in terms of reality towards character-driven fantasy.
Meanwhile, closing in on the Belfort conglomerate is the feds, led by Kyle Chandler’s Agent Patrick Denham, who is sure he will get his man. Will he? Jordan is pretty smart in ways of business, but he has an ego that builds over time that may be the death of him. Rob Reiner shines as his exasperated father, Jon Bernthal (The Unforgiveable) as Belfort’s “fixer” and he is almost unrecognizable and simply stunning. Hill put in teeth implants to capture the character even further and as such, contributes greatly to the embodiment of Azoff. Who this guy is as clear as day, thanks to the writing of Terence Winter, based on the book by Belfort. There is so much to the character arc of Azoff that it is a study in acting proficiency. Then again, so is every soul in this picture.
Robbie is a find. The Australian actress made herself a star with this turn and it is only her who can keep Jordan in place (or at least she tries) and demands his respect until there might be none to give. Robbie’s Lapaglia is among the great souls portrayed on screen in recent memory and all the fame she experiences now is well deserved considering the work she did for Scorsese as a relative neophyte.
The Wolf of Wall Street in 4K is a vision of cinematic perfection. The video transfer and audio transfer are both otherworldly. The story itself is chillingly and comedically compelling, but it is how the film looks and sounds that will make you watch it again, and again, and again. Scorsese oversaw the 4K transfer and the adoration for this project shows on every single frame.
The film was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor (DiCaprio), Best Director (Scorsese), Best Supporting Actor (Hill), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Terence Winter).
Just a quick note about a 10-minute camera by Matthew McConaughey. Let’s just say after his appearance with DiCaprio in the first moments of the movie, it is his performance that sets this fire burning.
When it comes to bonus features, there are three previously included extras that were available on a previous Blu-ray release. There is The Wolf Pack, Running Wild, and The Wolf of Wall Street Round Table—all in HD.
Wolf Pack works as a making-of featurette, with two brief videos to enhance the challenges that faced Scorsese and his cast where it is described as “controlled chaos.” If that sounds like some of the scenes from the film, that could not be a more accurate description! Scorsese, DiCaprio, and Hill all chime in on the mayhem that was making Wolf. What’s especially fascinating about this featurette is despite all the craziness on the set, there was still plenty of room for these superstar actors to improvise and take Wolf of Wall Street to the next level.
Running Wild delves deeper into the making of the film and more than anything illustrates that Scorsese shows no signs of letting go of that gas pedal that has captivated audiences for decades. Lastly, The Wolf of Wall Street is an equally enlightening and entertaining chat with the director and the main stars where they wax poetic about making a masterpiece.
Grade: A+
Bonus Features: A-