For some of those playing for big financial stakes, the excess of the 80s brought with it a tide of unquenchable greed, overt materialism and a lust for money at all costs. And Wall St, with its growing number of stockbrokers, was home to the greediest of them all.

Legendary director Martin Scorsese’s latest film, The Wolf of Wall St, tells the story of real-life stockbroker and convicted fraudster, Jordan Belfort. It depicts, in broad cinematic strokes, how his meteoric rise to multi-millionaire was premised on his deft skills for upselling stocks with little or no value to people who could barely afford them.

What happened to those stocks (and the people who owned them) did not concern Belfort (or arguably this film). His only care was that his pockets and his nasal passages were lined thickly with the riches and the drug-fuelled indulgences they brought.

For several years, Belfort’s corrupt stockbroking firm continued to ride this wave of market frenzy—taking advantage of the most disadvantaged in the community. The higher they rose, the more he demanded further success, taking greater risks along the way.

Accompanying the lifestyle came the drugs and the women. Australia’s Margot Robbie plays the ultimate trophy wife, who soon replaces Belfort’s first wife. But all of this attention seeking—the boats, the cars, the mansions—eventually gains the attention of an unintended audience, the FBI.

When the FBI starts to make their investigations obvious, Belfort must look to Sweden and its relaxed banking laws as a means of hiding away his ill-earned millions. This will be his undoing, but not before he and his cohorts have one hell of a party along the way.

At a minute shy of three hours, you know you’re watching a great film when the passage of time is barely noticeable. It’s superbly written, the acting performances are first-class, and for the most part the hedonism intoxicates the audience as much as the characters.

But, this is arguably the film’s moral flaw. Given the brutal victimisation of many vulnerable people, the film perhaps glosses over the horrors of Belfort’s low actions in favour of indulging in the heady, materialistic highs.

The darkness is there, but it’s subtle. Those paying attention may feel it to their very core, but if you’re distracted by the glamour and the humour, you could miss it altogether. It’s a directorial risk that not everyone will agree with, but it pays off in terms of it being great cinema.

As a film, The Wolf of Wall St is intensely entertaining. And, judging it as such, you’d have to give it top marks. Margot Robbie is stunning in what will doubtless be her break out role, DiCaprio shows he has finally matured into an exceptional actor capable of capturing all the subtle nuances of character, and Jonah Hill is once again excellent in portraying the weasel sidekick.

Matthew McConaughey makes a fleeting appearance in this film, but like Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle, his limited scenes pretty much steal the show (well almost).

You will be shocked, you will laugh and you will further succumb to your admiration for Scorsese’s already lauded filmmaking genius. Hopefully, though, his ‘Wolf’ won’t glorify the real life criminal on which the film is based.

Recommended.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Jonah Hill

Rating: R

Runtime: 179mins

Release Date: January 23

Reviewer rating: 4/5