A big, loud, overblown, hilarious, disturbing and excessive film about the big, loud, overblown, hilarious, disturbing and excessive life of a douche bag stock broker who fleeced people of their hard earned dollars while filling his own pockets, The Wolf of Wall Street is a sobering look at the effects of excess and greed without particularly passing judgement one way or the other.

Based on the life of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), The Wolf of Wall Street tells the true story of a stock broker who goes from penny stocks to high class junk bonds through all manner of stock and securities fraud. Joined with business partner Donnie Azof (Jonah Hill) and a core team of brokers and henchmen from his old penny stock office including toupeed Rugrat (P.J. Byrne) and drug dealer Brad (John Bernthal), Belfort carves out a place for himself on Wall Street from the ground up and finds himself constantly upping the ante to stay ahead of FBI agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler) and in the process constantly stay ahead of raging drug and sex addictions that have to escalate more and more to mean anything. This leads to all manner of debauchery and risk taking that can not possibly lead anywhere good, especially not as far as his wife Naomi (Margot Robbie) is concerned.

The Wolf of Wall Street is an odd film as it is a very long three hours filled with behavior that, while often hilarious, is offensive to anyone struggling to make ends meet especially when the money being made by the characters in the film is largely off their backs. Because of this it would be easy to have a knee jerk reaction and condemn the film but just because it doesn’t pass particular judgement on what the characters are doing it doesn’t mean that it is glorifying it. The movie, narrated by Belfort, basically just presents what happened and you as the viewer are left to draw your own conclusions. If you come away thinking this guy is someone to be emulated then you are probably a sociopath and also an asshole.

The lack of judgement is really what gives this movie all its power. Had director Martin Scorsese tacked on a moral lesson at the end or gone out of his way to sermonize to the audience the film would have lost all its bite and would have been insufferable. As it is, with the events allowed to play out unfiltered, the movie becomes a condemnation in its own way as the audience is hard pressed not to be disgusted by Belfort and his partners.

With all that said, it is also very funny and even in the midst of some truly awful shit, the film finds the right balance of comedy. It is a credit to both the direction and the performances that even in the face of heinous behavior the characters are mostly likable most of the time. There are moments where it is pretty impossible to cheer some of them on but even in some of these instances it is funny if only for just how fucked up it is.

This is not going to be a movie for everyone. The length is significant and while I find it hard to ding a movie about excess for being excessive there is a certainly level of fatigue that sets in at a certain point where you realize that there are only so many times you can watch assholes do drugs and have sex with hookers without it turning your stomach. Which brings up the next issue some people may have which is that I am not sure how this movie got an R rating. There is so much nudity in this, both male and female, that it is almost numbing. If you have a weak stomach for naked boobs, this may not be the film for you.

One of the main keys to success here is the cast which is a terrific ensemble that stands with American Hustle as one of the best of the year. Leonardo DiCaprio is completely committed to his role as Belfort and doubles down on the rich lothorio he presented in the Great Gatsby. DiCaprio is enormously charming and compelling in the role even as he lies, cheats and swindles his way through life taking taking without regard for who it is hurting. He never gives Belfort a release valve for the douchiness either, he just digs in and commits the whole way. This is important when things turn dark and Belfort is at his most unhinged.

Jonah Hill turns in a spectacular performance as Donnie Azoff with a ridiculous set of teeth and a full body performance that shows an insane amount of detail. Like DiCaprio, Hill commits 100% and his performance is awesome. People can say what they want about him but he is Oscarworthy here and it is good to see him build on his success with Moneyball.

The rest of the cast is equally committed and compelling. Kyle Chandler brings a quiet arrogance to his FBI agent that is so effective I wish there was another hour showing more of the investigation. His interactions with DiCaprio are nuanced and sure without being over the top or obvious. Matthew McConaughey does a ton with a little in a small performance that sets the tone for the rest of the film, even if he is still horrifyingly skinny fresh off of Dallas Buyer’s Club. Rob Reiner is awesome as Belfort’s dad in his first performance in 10 years and brings some small voice of reason to the proceedings. Jean Durjdin, Jon Bernthall and Jon Favreau likewise do a lot with a little in smaller roles that are impactful and important.

Margot Robbie does a ton of heavy lifting here as Belfort’s second wife and navigates both insanely funny scenes and insanely heavy scenes with an equal level of skill and grace. Particularly late in the film, her performance really grounds the picture and helps keep the audience invested even while being horrified by what they are seeing.

Conclusion [10 out of 10]

This is definitely not a movie for everyone and it will turn off a lot of people with weak stomachs for constant nudity and sex but if you are not turned off by that the film is a tremendous effort that is very entertaining. There is no sermonizing on the evils of debauchery and excess because there doesn’t need to be. If you are not a misanthrope then the message  will not be difficult to sort out and the film doesn’t hold your hand for it.  It is a long ride but it is one well worth taking.