Jan 12, 2014 05:24 PM
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(Updated Jan 20, 2014 10:01 PM)
Twisted tales always make for good voyeuristic viewing as long as the impacts do not touch us. The problem with such tales is that the protagonists appear to be heroic than their deeds validating the fact that anything repetitively marketed starts to appeal irrespective of morals.
That explains why godfathers of mafias make for great movie protagonists and in the same genre a Wall Street trader who indulges in bypassing of the financial norms of trading markets and using the ill-gotten wealth to further this debauchery attracts the attention of a star director like Martin Scorsese.
Martin is the father of detailing and teasing out negatives of the human kind like no one else in the process almost glorifying as he also appears to persecute his protagonists. Leonardo looking like he stepped out of Aviator, excellently underplays the role where required before metamorphosing from a next door salesman on a regular job in a stock brokers firm to a wild greedily ambitious and unscrupulous trader unflinchingly fleecing innocent investors with penny stocks and rising to dizzy heights on the wealth index.
It does not stop there as he prods his friends and partners to indulge in debauchery and unlimited sex like never seen before illustrating how ill-gotten wealth can only help to spiral the need for them out of control.
Martin Scorsese who is no stranger to detailing on violence and sex fusing it with biographies seamlessly and reminds of the genre of violence in films that one would associate with Quentin Tarantino. He picks up the biography of Jordan Belfort, a trader who fleeced many innocent investors in the US market during the 90s and finally ended up a sales trainer in real life after climbing the wealth charts.
The film also sets new benchmarks in debauchery camera and cast indulging in a free for all orgies with drugs throughout the movie. Nude women move from frame to frame so recklessly and repeatedly that you become immune to the shocking images that flash across the screen. One is told that some scenes have already been censored which makes you wonder what else was left!
After some time you begin to wonder if it is not enough that a point has been made that the protagonist and his friends indulged in puke-worthy immoral behavior for a long time before the FBI caught up with them and if it was necessary to have them romping around in every other scene complete bereft of morals, shame and control on their drug intake. There could be a wrong impression in the audiences that the protagonist after imbibing kgs of drugs still appears to be moving around in good stead and health currently.
Negatives aside it is to the director's credit that 180 minutes of narration, most of which set new benchmarks in exhibition of debauchery on the screen still manages to hold your attention and watch with astonishment as Leo’s character manipulates the system and people around him to wallow in ill-gotten wealth and trying to live the dark side of the American dream.
The movie is laced with dark humor and some scenes do silently reflect the ill effects of drug intake and wrong doings especially like the ones where a completely wasted on drugs hero and his friend lose control of their body and yet they need to stop the FBI from catching on to their European dealings via a wiretap. The scene is very unlike anything seen before
There are good lessons to learn from the movie on the ill effects of pursuing a wrong path in a profession but yet there is a huge risk of the attraction of sex and drugs overwhelming the morality seeping through and undoubtedly leading to a R21 certification.
Leonardo and the director excel in their jobs with Leonardo now mastering his portrayals of historically famous characters. He looks to be standing in the front of the queue for an Oscar for this one as much as Martin for direction though there will always be a debate on whether the excesses portrayed in the movie were necessary. He extracts fantastic acting from the entire cast especially Jonah Hill as Leonardo’s drug addicted friend and co conspirator.
A shorter film minus the excessive debauchery displayed could not have really hurt the narrative. This movie will bring in lot of extreme opinions. It is certainly not for the sensitive.
There is a positive chance of getting offended by the excesses in the movie and hence recommended only for those keen to understand the psyche of characters that play financial markets and once in a while do things that destroys the image of a neat ethical system if it at all exists.
A good watch for those who study cinema and are not likely to just watch nudity and drug intake divested from the narrative or the characters.People whose sensibilities are likely to be hurt easily should stay away.
