Directed by Martin Scorsese

Written by Terence Winter, Jordan Belfort

Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Bernthal, Jon Favreau, Jean Dujardin, Joanna Lumley, Cristin Miliot, PJ Byrne, Kenneth Choi, Brian Sacca, Henry Zebrrowski, Ethan Suplee. JC MacKenzie.

The story of Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) who over a decade in the 1980s begins his meteoric rise in the world of stock trading on Wall St. His love of women, drugs, and his troubles with the law, this is a three hour epic, is from the legendary Scorsese, and based on the novel by the real life Belfort.

The direction from the legendary Scorcese, is nothing short of mesmerizing. He is clearly one of the best Directors in his field, and it shows. I didn’t hate this, nor did I love it either. While I appreciate the techniques used such as the quick jump cuts/tracking shots etc.

The acting from all involved is above par. Each performance is brilliant, and for me, the MVP goes to Hill. I truly believe Jonah Hill to be one of the most underappreciated actors of his generation. His performance here, as the almost unrecognizable Donnie is brilliant. It is no wonder he was nominated for an Oscar for his role here, and I wish him nothing but success and happiness in the future.

DiCaprio is beyond impessive in his interpretation of the real life Belfort. While there is some speculation about how authentic the role was, DiCaprio delivers on his role here as the not so – Belfort.

While this film is currently sitting in the Guinness Book of Records for the most uses of the ‘f’ word, to be honest it doesn’t feel overused at all. It completely complements the era of the time, and also what the characters personal lives are. The themes of both sex and drugs are very explicit, and this film was given the R18+ rating here in Australia (the equivalent to the NC17 in the States, and the 18 in the UK), and this is definatley understandable.

 As “brilliant” as this movie is, it does feel to me that it may have been due to a few things. Number one, the director – Scorsese; arguably one of the greatest directors in cinema history, he is responsible for countless almost flawless films that primarily revolve around the ‘gangster’ film. This almost seems against the norm for him, and while I appreciate him as a director, I felt that he was better than this. Number two, the overuse of explicit content – just ‘because’ – it almost felt that the sex/drugs/swear words – were overused as a way to be the film that dared to be “that film”. While it may have won over the Academy – getting five – and I will agree – well deserved Oscar Nominations, I felt it was not the best film I had ever seen.

One downside I found was the lack of original music that was used. As there was no original score, this felt like it was not an original film.

While I agree there were some very good acting and direction of this film, this is not one of my favourite films I have ever seen – nor is it my least – but it is worth watching – and I would absolutely recommend it, especially if you are used to language/drugs/adult themes in movies.

3.5/5