ARTICLE / SHORT READ

CUT TO [greed]

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
​
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
Martin Scorsese / 2013

BY Brennan Backs

PUBLISHED
​JULY 2018

Let me tell you something. There's no nobility in poverty. I've been a poor man, and I've been a rich man. And I choose rich every fucking time.

Martin Scorsese’s incredibly controversial, profanity-driven spectacle THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (2013) has divided opinion amongst critics and filmgoers alike. Some believed it was a satirical look at greed, wealth and power; others believed it was a grotesque, over indulgent depiction of a despicable man’s life.  
 
Yet what cannot be denied is the representation of greed present in every single character. From Leonardo DiCaprio’s starring role as the hard-to-believe-he-really-existed Jordan Belfort, to Jonah Hill’s Donnie, a man driven by the luxurious life Belfort promises. They are all consumed by the power of money and the thrills it buys. The opening shot, without going into too much detail due to it being very graphic, catches Belfort enjoying the fruits of his money, in a way so shocking that it can hardly be true.  
 
Scorsese employs masterful techniques to depict this grotesque greed. The use of slow motion, freeze frames and zooms add an air of comic timing, something that points out the absurd nature of what is being seen. In fact, greed is brought front and centre, placing it far from reality and very firmly in the film world. 
 
This creates a particular message that some would argue glorifies money and glorifies the power it buys you and therefore can be read to depict greed as a sin worth taking part in. However, it is clear to see that the greed Scorsese depicts is all a lie. The money, the girls, the drugs and the parties are all part of a world full of despicable people, one that is toxic and that, at its core, is simply not desirable. Also taking into account the film's deliberately long run time that clocks in at over three hours it could be said that Scorsese is more making a point about our fascination with power and greed than he is in fact mocking us.  
 
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET is a deliberately polemical film, telling the story of a man who by all intents and purposes was not at all nice. Yet, the expert handling of a subject so outlandish and grotesque is dealt with well. Arguably, in the hands of a different filmmaker there would be no debate as to where this film stands. Yet Scorsese has created something that throws the sin of greed up in the air, toying with the audience and making them squirm, while always keeping them fascinated. 

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