So I decided to see the preview of one of the most awaited movies of 2013 (or 2014? Which one is it actually?). The Wolf of Wall Street. I didn’t know much about that film, only saw the trailer earlier. I went to the cash desk, paid for the ticket and I still had time before the screening, so I ckecked out some info on IMDb. And there it was – the movie lenght. 177 minutes, I did a quick math in my head. I did the math again, but I just couldn’t be wrong – it was almost 3 hours. 3 hours? For one movie?! Whose idea was that, I could watch two in the same period of time! Do you remember the old proverb that says to always value quality over quantity? There it is, a perfect example.
I think my arrogance regarding movie lenghts is not completely unfounded, because a lot of productions are now wordy – there’s too much text around too little content and it drives me crazy. The Wolf of Wall Street was a story of one guy’s life, how much could possibly be there to say?… As it turns out a lot, and more important – with just the right words. The key was probably to hire the proper person to work on the script. So the big applause from me goes to Terence Winter, who managed to write about 200 pages of dialogues and speeches, mantaining the suspens and spicy sense of humor. But on the other hand, how can you expect less from The Sopranos screenwriter?…
Enough about the script. What about the protagonist, the wolfie himself? I think Leonardo di Caprio already got rid of his ‘gentle paramour from Titanic’ label and a few years ago people started to notice that he’s actually an outstanding actor. And he has really excelled himself this time! I think this was the most charismatic and charming character I’ve seen Leonardo playing, or should I say – he made the character so charismatic and charming. Because, if you think about it, Jordan Belfort was a cheating douchebag who was disloyal to his wife (to both of them for that matter), earned a hell lot of money doing illegal business and then spent the major part of it on drugs, hookers and parties. This is clearly the kind of person that we wouldn’t like in real life if we’ve known about him everything we know while watching the movie. So what makes us like this greedy dodger? Leonardo di Caprio with his absolutely genius acting, plastic mimics and extensive range of gesticulation. How flawless he was on that screen can’t be put into words, you have to see it for yourselfves.
Talking about flawlessness – a film like that needed a female character and Margot Robbie was the lucky one to be Leo’s partner. You may have not heard about her before, but you won’t be able to take your eyes off her – the classy blond in chic costumes with low, deep voice and adorable accent. I can see why she got the job. And Matthew McConaughey appears in the movie only for a few scenes, but he makes Mark Hanna just as unforgettable as any other character!
Every single branch of this film production is unblemished, but the trick was to make them a perfect whole. Writing about The Wolf of Wall Street and not mentioning Martin Scorsese just wouldn’t be fair – he was a visionary conductor of this orchestra of details. As a result we have a 3 hours symphony of images and sounds that tell us a story full of tinsel and verve. I couldn’t get enough of it!
Is this a movie that has to be seen at the cinema? Probably not, it doesn’t have any intense special effects that won’t look spectacular on your tv screen played from a Blu-ray. But I recommend you to go for one simple reason – just to see it as soon as possible.
