The Wolf of Wall Street

I just rewatched “The Wolf of Wall Street” last week with some friends because a few of them had already seen it. It is one of my favorite movies. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the main character, Jordan Belfort. The plot of the movie is a true story told by the real-life Jordan Belfort (although some say he exaggerated parts). “The Wolf of Wall Street” is extremely entertaining, telling a wildly outlandish story in a comedic way. Jordan Belfort rises from a middle-class family to the founder of a Wall Street investment firm named Stratton-Oakmont. He uses his newfound wealth to basically make the world his playground, doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants.

(Source)

I’ll start by talking about some of my favorite characters. Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Jordan Belfort, is definitely a man of questionable morals. He earned much of his money by manipulating stocks (very illegal). He would have his friends hold stocks in his name while his investment firm pushed those stocks heavily on every person they sold to. This drove up the price of the stock, which he would then ask his friends to sell and give him most of the profits. He uses his money on a yacht, a mansion, a Lamborghini, and to fuel his drug habits. Many consider Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance to be the best of his career.

 

Another great character is Aunt Emma. Jordan leaves his wife at the beginning of the movie to marry Naomi LaPaglia (played by Margot Robbie). Emma is Naomi’s aunt who lives in England. Aunt Emma seems like a generic old lady at first, but soon makes a few jokes about Jordan’s drug habits, saying she used to do that stuff when she was younger too. She also says the iconic line “risk is what keeps us young, isn’t it darling” to Jordan. Emma ends up using her British passport to maneuver through Europe with ease to hide Jordan’s money in Switzerland.

 

“The Wolf of Wall Street” is a movie that makes you forget that it is a true story. The things that go on are so eccentric and unbelievable that it seems like a completely fictional movie. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who hasn’t seen it. It has a star-studded cast. Alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie is Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, and Jon Favreau. The real-life Jordan Belfort even makes a quick appearance in one scene.