Saturday, March 15, 2014

1968 - The Wolf of Wall Street


Every now and then we get to see Scorsese play with one of his favourite themes: abundance.  It’s amazing to think that this is the work of a man in his 70’s, and in his fifth outing with Leonard DiCaprio he pulls out all the stops.  Let’s be clear - DiCaprio is good here - but Jonah Hill comes to this film as a man possessed.  He’s playing a fully fleshed character that lesser actors would turn into a caraciture.  

This film is a case study in amazing scene construction.  Each scene and sequence dazzle and are a shitload of fun.  That said, the parts are stronger than the whole.  The running time bogs it down, and you wonder if the theme of excess hasn’t made Scorsese be a bit excessive with his scenes.  So it’s worth seeing absolutely - but at just under 3 hours it’s a bit of a beast.

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