Martin Scorsese has worked successfully with Leonardo DiCaprio before ("Shutter Island" and "The Departed"). It's time for someone to have the courage to tell the biggest gorilla in the Hollywood jungle that he needs an EDITOR! This 180-minute film is too long by half. I easily could have edited some of those motivational talks, the drug sessions, the bacchanals and the orgies without damaging the story one iota. Bottom line: this is basically a 90-minute cautionary tale about ego, drugs and power based on Jordan Belfort's autobiographical "The Wolf of Wall Street." The main points don't need to be hammered home with endless, repetitious (and boring) scenes.
We see:
- Matthew McConnaughey ("The Lincoln Lawyer") does a brief scene at the beginning that sets a standard for our hero to admire.
- Leonardo DiCaprio ("J. Edgar") as Jordan Belfort, our titular "Wolf," who unflinchingly shows us the downside of drug use: the bloodshot eyes, the drooling, the crawling, the garbled speech and the repulsive behavior which evolve when there are no limits.
- Jonah Hill ("Moneyball") is his sidekick, long on ambition and short on common sense.
- Margot Robbie ("Love Actually") is our hero's second wife, gorgeous, smart and trying to make a life.
- Jean Dujardin ("The Artist") is a French-speaking Swiss banker who holds American "scum" in contempt.
- Joanna Lumley ("Absolutely Fabulous") is Aunt Emma, a Brit who is more than willing to help hide those ill-gotten gains in a Swiss bank.
- Kyle Chandler ("Super Eight") is a tenacious FBI man who should not be underestimated.
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Here is a sample:
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