Film Trailer Review: The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Leo DiCaprio and the director Martin Scorsese work well together. They join forces for this new film which is a mix of crime drama and black comedy. The film is called The Wolf of Wall Street and it is a Biographical story based on a book written by Jordan Belfort. Belfort was a stockbroker who refused to co-operate in a fraud case involving corruption on Wall Street. There were also allegations of mob infiltration too and Belfort went to jail for twenty-two months for fraud and money laundering. He did eventually co-operate with the FBI and has been clean since his release from prison. He decided to write two books about his story and The Wolf of Wall Street came first followed by a second book Catching the Wolf of Wall Street. Both were very successful and now Scorsese has decided to make a film based on the first book.

The film has a nice cast including DiCaprio as Belfort, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Favreau, Jonah Hill, Joanna Lumley and Jean Dujardin from The Artist. The movie will no doubt be a modern morality play or chronicle of Belfort’s dramatic rise and fall. Belfort and his friends make a fortune as stockbrokers and have many adventures. They live like rich boys and can afford anything they want. They will be tested as more money brings more temptation and greed. Eventually after the laughter comes tears as the main characters get mixed up with gangsters and end up in trouble with the law. Scorsese is good at making this kind of movie and films like Goodfellas and Casino follow a similar plot.

In the trailer Belfort spends most of the time having fun with his friends. The trailer is quite funny and the main characters can be seen engaging in silly antics and mischief. Life is clearly one big party with lots of money and living to excess being the life philosophy.
DiCaprio briefly narrates the story and also breaks the fourth wall by talking directly to the camera like Henry Hill from Goodfellas.
He explains what the high life was like and plays the character as a larger than life rich playboy. The trailer successfully mixes scenes of Belfort and his entourage having fun with more sinister shots involving  guns and guys being threatened. The film has a top cast, a great director and will no doubt generate quite a buzz. The trailer is perhaps a little bit longer than it needed to be but that is a minor niggle. It could of easily been twenty or thirty seconds shorter and still made its point. The important thing is that it is entertaining and highly recommended for fans looking to see what is on the horizon.

The actors look like they had a good time making the film as DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughey in particular work well together. The best scenes in the trailer involve them goofing around and their dialogue is humorous. The Wolf of Wall Street could easily turn out to be one of Scorsese’s funniest films. His best movies have a nice touch of black comedy and The Wolf of Wall Street appears to have that in spades. It also probably won’t be as violent as his other movies. This may help the film appeal to a much wider audience.

It is always fascinating to watch characters in movies live above the law. Such characters live a dangerous existence which is eventful and dramatic. Good films that deal with criminal characters have few dull moments and Scorsese is a master with this genre. There is also a natural curiosity to see how the story will inevitably end in tears.

The Wolf of Wall Street will be released on November 15th. Have a look at the trailer and share your thoughts.