The Wolf of Wall Street
In 1987, the year that The Wolf of Wall Street
begins, Michael Douglas starred as Gordon Gekko, the ultimate symbol of
Reagan-era self-indulgent avarice in Oliver Stone's cautionary tale Wall
Street. Gekko became a symbol for materialism and coined a mantra for
the ravenous, gluttonous, self-obsessed, win-at-all-cost quest for money.
It was simply this: "Greed is good."
Of course, in the world of Wall Street (and
its significantly weaker 2010 sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps)
greed led the character of Gordon Gekko to spend years in jail for insider
trading. Nonetheless he became a hero to a certain type of person, and his
kind of insatiable need for money laid the foundation for the kind of income
inequality which has turned the US (and world) economy into the mess it is
today. Earlier this year, it was estimated that 1% of all the people in the
world control 40% of the combined wealth on the planet. By comparison, the
poorest 80% of the planet controls a mere 7% of the world's wealth.
Greed is good, indeed. At least for that 1%. It
kind of sucks for the rest of us, though.
Gordon Gekko is name-checked briefly in The Wolf
of Wall Street, Martin Scorcese's epic (and surprisingly funny) look at
Wall Street greed and decadence. However, that character's influence
suffuses the proceedings. Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, who
rode junk stocks to unbelievable wealth and a Bacchanalian lifestyle,
Wolf of Wall Street is a veritable orgy of materialism, greed, drugs,
hookers, crime, sports cars, yachts, dwarf tossing, self-indulgence and
anti-social behavior.
Like its protagonist, The Wolf of Wall Street
believes in making everything bigger and better (including its running time,
which clocks in at an astounding three hours), a celebration of extravagance
and high living. While you know that the filmmaker is trying to condemn the
lifestyle, he can't help but luxuriate in the over-the-top consumerism and
misbehavior in which his characters indulge. It may be shallow,
superficial, criminal and reckless, but you have to admit it looks like a
hell of a lot of fun.
Much like Gekko, Belfort is not so much the hero of
his own story as the anti-hero. He is a living, breathing monument to
insatiable appetites and the idea that no matter how obscenely wealthy you
are, you can still never have enough money.
Playing Belfort is actually Leonardo DiCaprio's
second straight look at the divine decadence of prosperity, following Baz
Luhrmann's misguided adaptation of The Great Gatsby earlier last
year. DiCaprio was one of the few good things about Gatsby, but
in Wolf of Wall Street he is
completely in the zone, getting a well-deserved
Best Actor nomination for this breezy look at consumerist hedonism.
What Jordan Belfort was, essentially, is the world's
greatest salesman without any real concrete product to sell. Therefore he
sold himself.
His me-first attitude was instilled in him by his
own personal Gekko. High-powered stockbroker Jack Hanna (Matthew
McConaughey) took Belfort under his wing early in his career and explained
to him the cold hard truth of investing – it doesn't make a damn bit of
difference if the client makes money or not, as long as you are collecting
commissions. The job consists of taking money from
the client's wallet and putting it into your own pocket. If the client
ends up making money, great, but that really doesn't matter. They are
addicts, they will keep coming back.
Belfort started out selling penny stocks to people who could not afford
them, eventually clawing his way to the big time, opening his own firm which
specializes in getting orders from "whales," investors who bring with them
massive amounts of capitol. Their business was an odd mix of frenzied arena
and frat party. Belford does not so much disregard SEC regulations as
blatantly mock and antagonize them.
Scorsese uses his legendary storyteller's eye to add
a vivid sheen to the proceedings. He does not judge, he just luxuriates in
the high lives these characters have built for themselves and then watches
impassively as they start to crumble.
The Wolf of Wall Street
is a fascinating life lesson, because it realizes the soul-draining
emptiness of these people, but it also recognizes the seductiveness of
living life with no rules. This film is Scorsese's best work in several
years. It is on a par with his other similar classics about the sirens call
of crime, Goodfellas and Casino. Yes, it's that good.
Jay
S. Jacobs
Copyright ©2014 PopEntertainment.com.
All rights reserved. Posted: March 18, 2014.
