Anthony Stokes on whether The Wolf of Wall Street can be regarded as the most gratuitous and self-indulgent movie of 2013….
In a way all films are self-indulgent. Film would really be flat and boring if a movie was cut down to only what is necessary for the plot. I think the best directors manage to find a balance between adding a flair and a personal stamp on a movie, and keeping the audience in mind at all times. I have no problem with directors making movies for themselves, but when you make a movie that you plan to release to the public you should put your audience in front of your clout and ego as a director so that everybody can enjoy your film.
The Wolf of Wall Street is being pegged by some as the best movie of the year, while others have described it as gratuitous and self-indulgent. When I sat down to see it, I felt the opening scene really set the tone for the movie. It was loud and crass, and Martin Scorsese spent the rest of the movie not only trying to match the absurdity and ridiculousness of this opening, but to top it and completely shock his audience. Plenty of jokes cross the line of decency while Leonardo DiCaprio, channeling Scorsese, smiles at the camera almost gloating at the audience about what he’s allowed to get away with. And I loved every minute of it.
In some ways this movie was made for me. A raunchy black comedy biopic directed by Scorsese starring DiCaprio and Jonah Hill at their most uninhibited. The only thing missing is a cameo from Robert De Niro. I honestly did not notice the running time as it moves so quickly and is so genuinely funny that it could’ve kept going for another hour, which was almost the case before Scorsese trimmed it down. It’s tight and honestly I can’t think of any fat to trim since most scenes are more or less pertinent to the storytelling, or laugh out loud funny.
But overall why I feel The Wolf of Wall Street deserves a pass on its level self-indulgence is because in all actuality, it kind of needed to be. Jordan Belfort’s life was so wild and crazy that all Scorsese really did was not censor it, not condemn it, and add a flair to it that only he can. There was never a moment that felt out of place in the story, which is a testament to the actors and director, who were able to create an atmosphere where the crazy antics that take place make sense and aren’t jarring in the movie once you see it.
So, for me – who anticipated Marty going completely all out and delivering a completely irreverent comedy that’s overlong – it wasn’t self indulgent at all. Gratuitous? Hell yes, but in a way that’s extremely entertaining, almost like Game of Thrones which never misses an opportunity to show a woman’s breast. The running time I felt was warranted, unlike Pacific Rim or Man of Steel, both which had no business being two hours plus and are much more deserving of the crown “most self-indulgent movie of the year”.
The Wolf of Wall Street, Pain & Gain, and American Hustle have created a genre I like to call Absurd Comedy, which is my new favourite genre. 2013 will always be known as the year of fun movies and The Wolf of Wall Street was the swan song.
Originally published January 9, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
