Last night I watched a film called the Wolf of Wall Street. It was not what I had imagined it to be. It was much worse. I thought perhaps the story would expose some bad things going on like insider trading or such. Instead the story was about sex, drugs, and downright theft from thousands of unsuspecting investors. I came away from this three-hour debacle hoping it was not based on a true story. This morning I looked it up. My worst fears have been realized, it is true, in fact, the real Wolf of Wall Street claims he led a much worse life than what is depicted in the film.
Leonardo Di Caprio did a very good job of depicting the main character, and it is obvious as to why there were five Academy Awards nominations for the film. I am glad, however, that it did not win a single Oscar. However, it did win many other awards. Giving it Oscars would have been condoning the activity of the lifestyle and the immoral trading conducted by the firm of Stratton Oakmont.
I found the story fascinating because of the ingenious way the Wolf founded his company, and titillating because of all the very explicit sex scenes. I didn’t appreciate having to spend three hours to see it.
I’m glad I watched it, now I can strike it off my list of movies to see, but I don’t think I am a better man for having seen it, it didn’t teach me anything about life. It did make me appreciate that my ethics are far more moral than a lot of other people’s.
I give this movie three icons. & & &
Filed under: Biography, Movie Review, Uncategorized | Tagged: Di Caprio, The Wolf of Wall Street |
Good review.
I agree. Di Caprio did a great job of playing the money and sex-crazed wolf. To me, it reinforces some common beliefs about business enterprise. It (and people involved who stand to profit from its success) will keep testing boundaries for its success. People also are not averse to making a quick buck and keep assessing the risk and return tradeoff. When they win they are happy and will believe they were smart. When they lose they will try to look for scapegoats, often regulators who they believe should have been alert to the risks while they themselves enjoyed disproportionately high returns. Trading is a game humans invented. Some will lose. Some will win.