The Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, continues to be a hotly debated film, both with critics and with Wall Street professionals. The film is performing very well at the box office and is in the running for many major awards — but the subject of how realistic the film really is continues to be debated.
According to the Huffington Post, this portrait of Wall Street excess has been judged by some critics and moviegoers as a glorification of unchecked greed. But the movie’s bad reputation as an orgy of drugs, sex, and money has also drawn eager crowds. In two weeks, the film has made $63.3 million at the box office and will likely become one of Scorsese’s highest-grossing pictures.
The movie stars DiCaprio as out-of-control stockbroker Jordan Belfort, who is initially furious when a Forbes magazine profile turns out to be a hatchet job labeling him a “twisted Robin Hood who takes from the rich and gives to himself and his merry band of brokers.”
So why all the debating? After all, it is just a movie right? Well, Scorsese has chosen to tell this story (which is based on a real life character), but in his usual style, pushing the envelope. The film contains a record-setting 506 “F-bombs,” and has plenty of sex and drugs.
Not everyone agrees that the film is an accurate portrayal of events. Scorsese defends the picture saying, that it is more of a “portrait” of greed gone wrong.
Either way you look at it, the movie has become a hit, if only because audiences want to see exactly how far Scorsese and DiCaprio have gone this time.
Sources: Huffington Post | Wikipedia
