“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a stockbroker.”
Leonardo DiCaprio might as well be laying out that line in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, where he plays real-life multi-millionaire stockbroker/swindler Jordan Belfort. In the new trailer, gleeful immorality, fat stacks of cash and a self-aware voice-over from a man who wants too much all feel like a sequel to Goodfellas. Or maybe a modern adaptation of “Bonfire of the Vanities” (The Wolfe of Wall Street?). Or maybe the Gatsby For 2013 that’s really for 2013.
Comparisons aside, it looks ridiculously cool.
Belfort’s trick was artificially inflating a stock price before dumping the lion’s shares and screwing over clients. He made a crazy amount of money that fueled some very profound drug and control problems – and it looks like DiCaprio is having the time of his life here. It’s almost like Django loosened the lid for him, and Wolf has opened the pickle jar. Plus, the script comes from Terence Winter (The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire), and it’s about time he teamed with Scorsese.
Check out the trailer for yourself:
Those are some valuable lessons. Taping someone’s money to your boobs constituents employment, and safety is the core concern when setting up a friendly midget toss.
Tonally, this is Christmas in July in June, but the book has more than its fair share (naturally) of dark moments – especially in regards to the consequences of Belfort’s drug abuse. Quaaludes and driving don’t mix. It’s easy to imagine Scorsese and company exploring those elements with gusto.
And, wow, McConaughey. With this and Dallas Buyers Club coming out this year, he’s going to dominate with prestige. Hopefully he wears a black leather vest to the Oscars.
The Wolf of Wall Street hits theaters November 15th.
Related Topics: Leonardo DiCaprio
