Jordan Belfort returns to Wall Street at the age of 24. A simple broker for the bank L.F Rotschild during his license year, he quickly climbed the ranks. Self made man, pure product of capitalist America, baited by money and excited by the world of Wall Street, it quickly takes the fold. At thirty he founded his own brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont.
Money: motor of the life of Julian Belfort alias the wolf of Wall Street
The more he has the more he wants. He is never satisfied. Money contributes to his glory and makes his fortune. Trader, it vibrates according to stock market prices. He sniffs bargains and fierce blows. He understands very quickly how this environment works. To demonstrate its success it is necessary to reveal its richness in an ostentatious way. The world of traders is based on cynicism. The goal is to make as much money as possible whatever the stratagems used that they are legal or not. He succeeded in Wall Street thanks to his arrogance, his approach but also his professionalism. He knew how to feel the tendencies. Swallowed by the system it adapts its behavior to its new status. Beautiful cars, yachts and luxury homes have no secrets for him. Money calls money. Like his mentor Marc Hana who inducted him on Wall Street, he adopts the course of a good trader.
Sex and Drugs, Key Keys to Grow on Wall Street
Scorsese's film can be criticized for dealing only with the world of the New York Stock Exchange on the surface. This overview remains true to the eponymous book written by Jordan Belfort. In the wolf of Wall Street he tells his life of debauchery. Everything revolves around sex. The office of his company quickly resembles a giant lupanar. On every floor, everyone sleeps with everyone in every way. Here it is rather fucking. No matter the body fluids mix. This continual debauchery is reinforced by the daily and recurring use of all kinds of drugs. Cocaine, morphine, cachets all swallow or sniff. Everything happens there. No limit imposed. As long as the trapping is at the rendezvous everybody continues this little shabby game. Everyone goes there with his new discovery. All the prohibitions are braved. Morality no longer exists. The boundaries between good and evil gradually fade away. Looking at this world more closely, it appears glaucous, without interest outside of any reality.
Jordan Belfort: A Wall Street icon, a trader model?
From the "innocent little lamb" when he arrived at the New York business district, Jordan Belfort quickly became a wolf. He devoured some investments, ripped off some others and tricked Wall Street. Too much to play with fire, he burned his fingers. The federal agents were happy to stop him. This stalking of the vicious trader, vicious and unscrupulous is only an example that resembles a little scam mounted by Bernard Madoff. Jordan Belfort is only one of the illustrious examples that reveals the drifts of the capitalist system and the successes created by the stock market. Some get rich on the backs of others and participate in the impoverishment of these individuals. So goes the business world.
Jordan Belfort has received only 22 months in prison due to his frauds, scams and tricks. It is little in the light of his faults. This reduced penalty is due to the fact that he cooperated with the FBI agents. Again it is doing well. To achieve this result, he denounced a large number of his collaborators and intermediaries. To save his skin, he is ready to even denounce. Finally it emerges winner of this penitentiary experience. Still in anticipation, he takes advantage of his stay in prison to begin writing his autobiography.
When the actors play saves us from boredom
Too long, this film could have lasted an hour and a half without problem. Instead, it lasts almost three hours. Too many repetitions remove the interest of the film. From the moment we realized that cynicism, debauchery and drugs are the keys to success on Wall Street, it was not necessary to return to it during this production. Other aspects of the life of Jordan Belfort could have been developed to give another dimension to the Wall Street wolf. The film turns on itself. This disappointing result is saved by a very beautiful interpretation of the actors. Leonardo Di Caprio blends perfectly into the character of Jordan Belfort. He brilliantly embodies the darkest traits of the personality of this outsized trader. We almost forget that he plays. It is the same for all those who respond. One would really believe oneself in the pitiless world of finance. We also feel that Martin Scorsese does not carry Wall Street in his heart. Behind this debauchery, he denounced the excesses of certain traders and questioned the very reason for the stock market. Far from being moralizing, this film aims to uncover the other side of the scenery. Unfortunately the criticism is limited and in no way reaches the image of Wall Street. It simply depicts a poorly known universe made sadly famous by the financial crisis of 2009. This opaque medium in which banking secrecy is wager lack of transparency and is also very often fantasized.
Jordan Belfort is a man whom one likes to hate. It is the symbol of capitalism and easy money. Yet many adulate and respect it. Finally it represents the paradox of our society. Everyone seeks to enrich themselves without necessarily achieving happiness. Julian Belfort loses everything, he fell into his own trap and yet the film does not depict him as a happy man but dependent on everything and all.
