“The Wolf of Wall Street,” directed by Martin Scorsese, has been described as a glorification of stockbroker Jordan Belfort’s life of debauchery. This con man is still reaping the benefits of his degeneracy as the film has grossed over $63 million to date.
Audiences are used to big budget films where a Hollywood heartthrob plays a charming villain. Often these bad guys generate more admiration than disgust. In “The Wolf of Wall Street,” not even Leonardo DiCaprio can disguise the fact that Jordan Belfort, is anything more than a swindling, sex crazed, drug addicted, degenerate.
For three hours, audiences are inundated with over 500 f-bombs and Belfort’s egregious actions. They leave the theatre shocked that the bad guy was in fact, a really bad guy. For all of Belfort’s depravity, he suffered only minor consequences for his crimes. Vile characters are atypical ingredients for a holiday blockbuster yet “Wolf” has proven to be extremely successful.
“If it raises the ire of some people, that might be a good thing because it makes you think about it,” Director Martin Scorsese said.
Belfort’s heinous life reveals a sad truth that critics would rather ignore. Evil people often prosper from their villainy.
“[Scorsese] always gives an authentic portrayal of a story,” Margot Robbie who plays Naomi, Belfort’s wife, told Yahoo News.
While it is nice to watch super heroes save the world, or paranormal romances unfold, a real gem is a story that is honest to the point of unnerving an audience. “The Wolf of Wall Street” forces viewers to accept an ugly truth that an average person can easily fall victim to a smooth talking scammer.
Belfort took pitiful idiots under his wing and used them to swindle others. He manipulated them with superficial speeches while using them to illegally pocket millions of dollars.
“I understood how Jordan must have felt,” DiCaprio told the Huffington Post, “these people idolizing you even though I’m preaching to them about screwing people over to its ultimate degree.”
Many moviegoers may leave the theatre sickened by the film’s blatant and incessant display of immorality. Yet, this near pornographic spectacle intends to sicken in order to reveal the true ugliness of a self- indulgent lifestyle. Even Jordan Belfort is not rich enough to afford this deplorable level of sin. The ugliness of this lifestyle is more nightmare than dream and proved to be costly for the rich Jordan Belfort.
