This is a highly entertaining film, though I'm not sure it's an especially good one. It's at least half an hour too long, and it's relentless in its portrayal of greed and debauchery. Maybe the idea is to show, not tell, but at times it edges dangerously close to a glorification of Wall Street culture. It's funny, very funny in places (Jonah Hill's presence alone always sets me up to start laughing), but that's sometimes part of the problem - you're laughing too much to worry about the people never shown in this movie, the ones who got royally ripped off by these selfish, avaricious cunts. Their only mention comes in passing, right at the end.
There are some fantastic individual scenes, though - my favourite was the protagonist on his yacht with the FBI agent who is investigating him. The quaalude OD scene was simultaneously intense, distressing, and darkly amusing. And at least there is no Big Redemptive Moment, no sentimentality, and no preaching, which is what you expect from Scorsese tagged up with a Sopranos scriptwriter.
7 out of 10.
There are some fantastic individual scenes, though - my favourite was the protagonist on his yacht with the FBI agent who is investigating him. The quaalude OD scene was simultaneously intense, distressing, and darkly amusing. And at least there is no Big Redemptive Moment, no sentimentality, and no preaching, which is what you expect from Scorsese tagged up with a Sopranos scriptwriter.
7 out of 10.
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