7.5/10
This is a hard movie to critique, I feel like it very much 'is what it is'. Which was fun, generally speaking. I'd heard some complaints about the length but it never felt long to me.
DiCaprio was good. Best Actor worthy? A nomination, sure, but I don't think he should win the big prize. A lot of scenes were simply played to excess (obviously) that I felt a lot of actors could have done. However, just when I thought DiCaprio wasn't bringing a whole lot that was unique to the role, he gave the "Steve Madden speech" which served as reminder to anyone who forgot just how good he can be when he has to. I also thought the infamous quaaludes scene showed a dimension of physical comedy that I wouldn't have expected from him. Jonah Hill is also very good, also deserving of his nomination.
As for the movie itself, I guess what was slightly frustrating was its refusal to take any kind of moral stance. I guess it's more fun to show Jordan Belfort in all his excesses and let him off the hook by passing as little judgement as possible. I did enjoy the ending, however - the scene of the detective on the subway was suitably understated, and the closing shot of the sea of people waiting to be molded into the next Jordan Belfort is appropriately terrifying. The Wolf of Wall Street is as much (maybe more) a celebration of the culture that creates Jordan Belforts as it is a condemnation of it, but I find this to be a bit like wanting to have your cake and eat it too. I wish Scorsese had maybe tried to say a little bit more with his movie, but I still enjoyed myself regardless.
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