Moneyball

The Wolf of Wall Street

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”  There are few among us whose lives embody the words of famed journalist Hunter S. Thompson, but some people come close.  Jordan Belfort was such an individual, setting Wall Street ablaze in the early 90s like a real life Gordon Gekko on crack.  No, really.  On crack.

Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio, The Great Gatsby) began humbly, learning the ropes as a rookie stockbroker at a modest Wall Street firm under the tutelage of senior broker Mark Hanna (Matthew McCounaghey, Dallas Buyers Club).  Hanna’s words of advice would form the blueprint for Belfort’s lifestyle, with Hanna advising him on everything from drug usage to a schedule for self-pleasuring.  Belfort did well for himself, a natural salesman gifted with a silver tongue.  That gift of gab would serve him well after his first brokerage house folded and he found himself selling penny stocks in a Podunk “firm” off the beaten Wall Street path.  It’s a huge step down at first glance, but Belfort quickly realizes an untapped gold mine.

Soon, Belfort was suckering pitiful souls out of their investment in a pump and dump scheme that left him with eyes on even bigger sights.  He recruited a handful of buddies back home, various hustlers in their own right.  With a trusted core in place, he opened his own firm called Stratton Oakmont, applying all that he’d learned to much bigger fish.  Dealing exclusively with wealthy investors, their profits increased even more and they were making money hand over fist.  Raucous office parties including hookers and cocaine were not uncommon, and capitalist hedonism ruled the day.

The film chronicles Belfort’s meteoric rise and subsequent fall from the precipice of a lifestyle filled with sex, drugs and a never-ending supply of money and women.  Scorsese effectively pulled back the curtain, exposing a lifestyle that few of us will ever witness.  Belfort’s indifference about the lives he ruined took a backseat to his zealous pursuit of the almighty dollar.  It was a familiar motif, with greed serving as faceless antagonist.  Eventually Belfort will burn out, and if the law doesn’t get him, the drugs will.

DiCaprio’s character was abhorrent, but there was a devil-may-care affability that I found likable – at least initially.  If you like to root for the bad guys in movies, it’s one of many reasons you’ll love this film.  DiCaprio has the astounding ability to immerse himself in a role so deeply that I don’t even see him anymore.  He was Jordan Belfort.  Although Belfort’s professional judgment was morally bereft, DiCaprio showed the duality of the character through the loyalty of his personal relationships – particularly his friendships.  Enter Jonah Hill (This Is The End) as Donnie Azoff, Belfort’s neighbor who observes his lifestyle and wants in.   Hill is really a gifted comedic actor, evincing versatility with a perfect balance of humor and levity.  From Superbad to Moneyball, his range is impressive and was on full display here.

Belfort’s story was the inspiration behind 2000’s Boiler Room, and comparisons to that movie and others of its ilk such as Wall Street are nearly inevitable.  Where Wolf surpasses its predecessors is in its deft storytelling, courtesy of Terrence Winter (Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos) and Belfort’s source material.  Furthermore, Martin Scorsese hasn’t missed a beat as a filmmaker.  The same man that brought us seminal classics Goodfellas and Casino nearly 20 years ago is just as adept behind the camera now as he was back then.  In fact, The Wolf of Wall Street reminded me of Goodfellas in many ways, from the immediate narration of its protagonist to the hallmark Scorsese score.

The film was unquestionably a vehicle for DiCaprio’s talents, but the supporting performances were nearly as strong, with impressive turns from the aforementioned Hill and Margot Robbie (Pan Am), who smoldered as Belfort’s mistress turned second wife Naomi.  I initially resisted the prevailing notion that DiCaprio was one of the preeminent actors of our generation, but I’m beginning to agree.  His resume tells no lies, and this performance ranks right up there with the likes of his turn in The Departed, although he did not receive an Oscar nomination for that role.  He’ll certainly receive one here, and he couldn’t be more deserving.  He and Scorsese are every bit the tandem that Scorsese and DeNiro once were, and this pairing might be their best.  Grade: A.

This post first appeared at Poptimal and was reprinted with permission.

The Ides of March

“Beware the ides of March…”  I’ve always liked the Shakespeare quote from Caesar, an ominous warning of betrayal.  It’s appropriate that the George Clooney (The American) directed Ides of March is named for the quote, as the movie is similarly characterized by the betrayal and cold ambition found in Shakespeare’s play.

Ryan Gosling (Drive), Philip Seymour Hoffman (currently in Moneyball), Marisa Tomei (The Lincoln Lawyer), and Paul Giamatti (most recently of The Hangover II) comprise a highly-acclaimed cast that is the best collection of actors I’ve seen in a while.  Clooney is Democratic governor Mike Morris, an ambitious contender for the White House, especially if he can win the Ohio primary that looms ahead.  An integral part of Morris’ campaign is his campaign manager and aide, Stephen Meyers (Gosling).  Meyers is a sharp young gun with political savvy beyond his years.  He is calculating and shrewd, and will tell you that he’s done more at his age than most of his older counterparts.  However, it is Meyers’ strong ego that leaves him susceptible to overtures from the opposition.  Morris’ opponent is a more seasoned Democrat, a representative of the status quo, while Morris (much like President Obama) has been anointed as the symbol of hope and change.   Stephen has truly bought into Morris’ image and thinks he is backing a winner.  As he tells another character, he is “drinking the kool-aid.”  The campaign is moving in the right direction until Stephen gets a call from Tom Duffy, campaign manager for Morris’ opponent.  Duffy tells Stephen that he’d like him to switch sides and that he should attach himself to a winner and look at the big picture.  Stephen ultimately declines, but let the whole thing linger on longer than it should have.  Instead of maintaining an impenetrable silence, he allowed for the possibility of uncertainty and cast Morris in a vulnerable light at a critical hour of the campaign.

While managing the campaign, Stephen crosses paths with a young volunteer named Molly (Evan Rachel Wood, True Blood) whose father happens to be the head of the Democratic National Convention.  They begin an intimate relationship that leads Stephen to discover that he and the governor share more than a similar ideology.  Meanwhile, Stephen tells Morris’ senior campaign manager Paul (Hoffman) about his exchange with Tom Duffy.  His admission is met with an impassioned diatribe on the virtue of loyalty, after which he is quickly dismissed from the campaign.  At first blush it seems that Stephen will be a victim of his own ego, but he still has an ace up his sleeve with Molly – who is carrying a secret that could derail the entire campaign.  It’s ironic that while Paul was reminding Stephen of the importance of loyalty, he had no idea that Stephen had been displaying great loyalty to the governor by cleaning his dirty laundry even while his own position within the campaign grew more and more tenuous.

After Stephen is fired he behaves vengefully and emotionally, almost validating the overture.  But you don’t get to where Stephen has gotten without having a fighter’s mentality.  He goes into survival mode and begins to play the game from within, angling to revive his role in the campaign and to leverage what info he has against the man he once believed in.

Ides of March was a pretty good political drama.  I’ve seen better, but it was a solid movie and an impressive directorial effort from Clooney.  I really feel that he captured the idealistic buzz that hums in a Democratic campaign, the enthusiasm and liberalism.  I chuckled at the Shepard Fairey-inspired prints modeled after Obama’s iconic ‘Hope’ poster, but otherwise I thought the campaign depiction was realistic.  Ryan Gosling continues to prove that he’s one of the best young actors around.  He is earnest and real in everything I’ve ever seen him in, and I am always endeared to his characters, whether he’s a criminal in Drive, a drug addict in Half Nelson, or a lovesick suitor in The Notebook.  Clooney was effective as the duplicitous Morris and of course it’s no difficult task for him to be the charming candidate.  The supporting cast was very good, and I should mention that Jeffrey Wright (Source Code, Cadillac Records) also made an appearance.  Another great actor in a pretty good movie.  I didn’t like the very last scene of the movie, but I enjoyed it overall. 8 out 10.