Review - The Wolf of the Wall Street

The Wolf of the Wall Street is non stop adrenaline rush.

F**K THE WORLD!!!

 Imagine Martin Scorsese directing a Michael Bay-esque movie, replacing all the steel and iron banging with drugs, parties, strippers, however keeping the hot bombshells intact. All of this with some depth though. This is 'The Wolf of the Wall Street' for you.

Scorsese's got a huge U-turn from his PG-rated biopic-cum-adventure flick Hugo (read boring). Hugo had no f-words, no nudity and drugs in light years distance and no sex at all. Seems like Marty was really depressed after Hugo, so he went out with a bang (literally and physically). Here's a film with a record breaking F-words count, nudity in every third scene, drugs of all kind and decent amount of sex. So much that it could have been a NC-17. But like Requiem for a Dream or The Perfume, the film walks the thin line.

Our hero (read antihero) is Jordan Belfort is a long island stock broker who turns obscenely rich by selling stocks of pink-sheet, worthless companies and getting 50% commission each time. He and his team (comprising of very funny Jonah Hill),  sells it firstly to poor, working class people and then to rich. He soon starts his own company, his dirty business grows and he becomes the king of the Wall Street within months. 

So when you have such an outrageous amount of money, you spend it or waste it in very possible way - so does Jordan, he moves to a palatial home, divorces to his wife for an ultra-sexy lingerie designer Naomi (the super hot Margot Robbie), takes every possible drug, bangs hookers, buys yacht and chopper and what not. But its all saddening since the money he is spending is not really his, but of the poor (but desperate) people, who want to get rich very quickly.

It showcases a bravura performance by Leonardo diCaprio, that would probably be his second best  (after the brilliant Revolutionary Road). He gives all his flesh and bone to the character. He acts with jolts of energy that it shakes you up inside out. And the best thing is, he maintains a very difficult balance between a good performance and a hammy one.

The film is unnecessarily long, with all its partying, doping and f'cking scenes become repetitive. These scenes firstly are a bit of surprise (or shock if you don't see much of hard R's), then fun and finally boring. But thankfully there are some ingenious sequences scattered throughout the film - McConaughey's brilliant cameo, the whole 'marrying your cousin' conversation between Leo and Jonah, the little sexy fights between Leo and Margot, the whole climatic road crawling scene which may lead Leonardo to the Oscar statuette - are to name some few.

The Wolf of the Wall Streets does comes out as a bold, brave movie which is not shy of anything at all. It is a rare of a kind film which treats the movie goers as adults, who have brains and can make whatever (good or bad) they want to make out of this film's horrible selfish characters. Even at 71 years, Scorsese has made a film so dynamic and energetic that it appears to be made by someone in his 20's. We can only say, keep the good work up and the Hugo's down, Marty!

3.5/5

Review - Blue Jasmine

 Blue Jasmine is all about Cate Blanchett.

Here is a film with a character so narcissist, snobbish and self-centered -  and yet you feel for the character. You care for Blanchett's Jasmine, not because the character is written in such a way. In fact, the character is wretched, a complete disaster. But you care. You care because there is something usual about Cate's portrayal. Her eyes, her face, her expressions - are just unforgettable. This is a great piece of acting.

Woody's first US based production after many years, Blue Jasmine is about a high fashion, ultra-rich Manhattan socialite - she is all that not because of herself - she is not even a graduate, but because of her husband Hal (Alec Baldwin, in a very apt casting). "He swept me off the feet" says Jasmine, not once but many times, after the things turn dreadfully wrong. Hal goes to jail in a Bernie Madoff-way, all the money, goods and property are taken by the State; and Jasmine is all left alone to face reallity. - She doesn't even have enough money to pay rent for the apartment.

So she moves to her sister's apartment in San Francisco.  Ginger (amazing Sally Hawkings, very natural) is a working class and hasn't heard from her rich sister in years. What follows is a sequence of comic situations in a very dark way and a detailed character study of our herione, Jasmine.

Writing his best, even at 80's, Woody Allen has a gift for quirky narrative. It is amazing the way he crafts his script, altering between dark comedy and neurotic drama. And also, the way he lets her lead to shine - Blanchett has apparently the best film ever which a heroine can dream of. It is a film which allows Blanchett to throw all her emotions. She is angry, frustrated, flirtatious, happy, jealous, amazed and finally, mad - all this in just an hour and a half of runtime. In any other hands, the character would have turned into a caricature. But Blanchett plays it with such a vulnerability and conviction that she turns Jasmine into a full flesh and bone character. She is the actor of the year undoubtedly.

Blue Jasmine is an amazing film. It shows how a great artist like Woody Allen never loses his luster and command in his craftmanship. And it shows how a great actress like Cate Blanchett can turn a repellent character into a empathetic one.

Jasmine doesn't plays in Indian cinemas, but you should definitely catch it on home video.

4/5