November 20th, 2023
CONTENT WARNING: THIS MOVIE CONTAINS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC AND PROLONGUED SEQUENCES OF DRUG USAGE, NUDITY, PERVASIVE SEXUAL CONTENT, AND LANGUAGE
Common Sense Media Age: 18+ Sex 5/5 Drug/Drinking/Smoking 5/5 Language 5/5 Violence 3/5
My Age Recommendation: 18+ (Due to graphic and pervasive sex and nudity constantly, pervasive drug usage throughout, extreme near-constant language, and some brief and distressing violence).
This movie has been on my list for a while, and I went in completely blind. Not even 30 minutes in I was laughing, a bit disturbed, and double checking that I am watching an R-rated movie and not an NC-17 one. The story (based on a true one) follows the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort as he starts his own stock company off penny stocks for the 50% comission, and he builds his millionare empire from there. He uses shady sales tactics, backdoor deals, and insider trades to make millions of dollars. Throughout his career, he meets the love of his life, becomes hooked on every drug imaginable, and becomes obsessed with hookers, but the fun won't last forever. Let me say, this movie was surprisingly good. I thought with all the execessive nudity and drugs that there wouldn't be a good story for this movie, but I was completely wrong. The story was great, had no pacing issues, and was extremely funny throughout. Towards the end, the sad and intense scenes were done well due to DiCaprio's great acting skills, and I can totally see why people think this movie shows his best acting ever. The chemistry between all the characters was great, and this helped the ups and downs of Jordan's life come through clearly and emotionally. The entire film, as I mentioned before, is extremely funny due to the shock-factor scenes that Martin Scorsese deliberately put in there, and Scorsese also does a great job at showing distressing scenes towards the end showcasing Jordan's hopelessness (especially with the creative ending, but no spoilers here of course). This movie is hard to describe so there isn't much else to say, but I do recommend everyone go watch it as you will see some of the best acting and storytelling ever!
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