Gavin Logan on why Leo deserves the Oscar this year, but probably won’t get it….
Okay, I think it’s fair to say that this year’s Oscars, especially the Acting and Picture categories are still pretty much up in the air. Although based on this year’s previous awards ceremonies like the Golden Globes and the SAGs (which generally are the two best indicators) then I guess we can already just hand Matthew McConaughey the little gold statue right now and be done with it. However, as much as I loved him in Dallas Buyers Club and as much as I thoroughly agree that he would be a well deserved winner, I still think Leonardo DiCaprio deserves it just a little bit more.
DiCaprio has stacked up some impressive performances since his star lit up all those years ago after Rose eventually did let go and he vanished into the deep, dark abyss of the Atlantic Ocean in Titanic. I’m not implying that he should take the Oscar based purely on his previous body of work, but it’s always a small plus. By the same token I don’t want to take anything away from McConaughey’s performance in Dallas Buyers Club simply based on his seemingly endless years of awful rom-coms and ‘phoned in’ generic roles. He has had quite the year and a half (Killer Joe, Mud, Magic Mike) and as someone who hasn’t spoken many kind words about him over the years, I really wish him all the best and hope he continues to smash out great performances in the future.
For anyone who has yet to see The Wolf of Wall Street, it really is as insane as everybody is saying. Yes there’s a lot of sex, a large pile of drug abuse and a record amount of F-bombs dropped but if you look past all that superficial, grandioso exterior, it’s really quite similar to lots of Scorsese’s movies. It follows a flawed young man trying to make it big while desperately clinging to the very fabric of his moral fibre. In fact, he completely ditches morality altogether for stacks upon stacks of money and never looks back.
Despite the clear genius of the movie, it picked up it’s fair share of bad reviews. Recently, DiCaprio felt the need to speak publicly about the negative outpouring from critics accusing the movie of glorifying the excessive lifestyle the movie depicts and defended Martin Scorsese’s vision. The scathing and overly personal verbal attacks on Martin Scorsese have been pathetic and quite embarrassing. They’re also highly unnecessary considering how much that man has given to the world of cinema over the years. Martin Scorsese is one of the few men in Hollywood who can do absolutely anything he wants because put simply, he’s earned that right.
Anyway, back to Leo. His performance as Jordan Belfort, the young, brash, egotistical wannabe who ends up leading the life of a hedonistic, millionaire monster on Wall Street, is nothing short of outstanding. DiCaprio’s portrayal is a fine example of an actor giving 100% of everything he’s got for the role. He doesn’t just act with his eyes, or his mouth, he acts with every single inch of his whole body. Despite being addicted to Quaaludes and partaking in promiscuous sex behind his wife’s back, Belfort is a character that we automatically cheer for. For the most part we want to see him succeed almost as much as he does himself and that’s simply because of one reason, DiCaprio. His enigmatic charisma and instant magnetism helps make Belfort a likeable protagonist and also an unlikely hero from the second the movie begins. There are times in this movie when DiCaprio alone through his performance controls the timing and nature of the picture. One minute it’s a goofball comedy, the next it’s a meaty, dog-eat-dog drama, sometimes blending the two together in a single breath. Seriously, how many actors out there today are capable of doing that?
DiCaprio can do just about anything he’s asked to do and that’s because he’s one of the best actors alive right now. Quite a statement I know, but go back and watch some of his older movies like Catch Me If You Can or Basketball Diaries.
So will he win the Oscar? No. It’s highly unlikely that the Academy would award DiCaprio for his role considering all the controversy that surrounded the picture. McConaughey seems like the safe bet, with Chiwetel Ejiofor a decent shout too for his role as Solomon Northup in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave. All of them would be worthy winners.
Gavin Logan – Follow me on Twitter and A-Z Movie Challenge.
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Originally published February 12, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
