Friday Feature Movie Review: "The Wolf of Wall Street" Leonardo DiCaprio & Martin Scorsese "ウルフ・オブ・ウォールストリート":レオナルド・ディカプリオ＆スコセッシ (ウォール街のテーマ)

"The Wolf of Wall Street" is a great movie, and it is all about excess, just like our US president. It is perfect if you are single and living life to the limit. Alternatively, it is a train wreck of misbehavior if you have matured beyond that. It confirms what could go wrong if you go down the wrong path. It seems that the answer depends on your age and desires. If you are single, (or love the single life even while married), are in the 25-35 age range,(or wish you still were without the responsibilities)​ then you will love this movie. It will be nostalgic for crazy times in your past before the Lehman Brothers fiasco back in 2008.

Escapism can be relaxing, and this delivers. How can you not enjoy it from that point of view? It is all about tremendous everything where "too much of everything money can buy" is still never enough. This is the target market. Director Martin Scorsese, does an amazing job of taking us back to the life and times of bucket shop "boiler rooms", where the phone line is the con man's way to gold. I cannot think of a more hedonistic life on any movie screen since seeing "Caligula" many years ago. 

Having a threesome or foursome is nothing to the main character Jordan Belfort, (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) why not go for a 100 some! I have never considered it possible to have a sex orgy on a commercial airplane with 250+ people. I now have seen it on screen and think differently. Throwing midgets for sport, or even stripper performances in the office, all change your perspective on what is normal. What can happen in the office bathroom has also changed for me, perhaps permanently.

It is a kind of visual orgy, New Roman style, but set in Long Island, New York. That is the only kind of description that could work for this movie. You may think this is a really positive thing, or you may not, but it does seem to be a kind of benchmark. For good or bad, such is the attitude on screen, and it can be amazing to watch. Or not watch in the case of Dubai, where almost 45 minutes of the 3 hour movie were cut in the local version. That is a lot of film, a pretty major slimmed down version.

Why do you watch and why can you enjoy such a movie basking in excess? You come away with different reasons. It represents a fantasy of what could happen if the financial "perfect storm" takes place during your career. The big money comes in and you have to find ways to spend it. The trouble is, it all ends badly, very badly, with many involved all part of the collateral damage, some end up dead. 

Best moments? worst moments? Too many to really count although seeing a person take so many drugs that they cannot speak on the phone and be understood was certainly memorable. Not being able to stand up or have motor skills, and being forced to crawl down stairs was another. Driving a Lamborghini Countach in such a state or even opening the door was notable. 

The Top 3 Takeaways from this book that impact any reader are:

1) There is a lot to learn about the many levels of finance within Wall Street. There is no single way to success, so be aware of every player in the financial game, bottom feeders do thrive.

2) The best rainmakers know how to make money and keep doing what they do best by maintaining their confidence. When this comes from drugs though, the end comes sooner than expected.

3) When becoming a successful rainmaker, your emotional strength from close friends or family at home, may help you perform at work. Every person has a personal life, so the more empty or fulfilling it is, the more you can succeed.

Sinking a yacht near Italy in a major storm, and seeing the rescue plane sent blow up as a sign from god or some other warning to wake up and change, all come to mind as key scenes. Stratton Oakmont, the chop shop firm in question, will be a very tough act to follow on screen or anywhere else. Perfect for your holiday weekend with a US president who is all about excess! It is all realistic, and portrayed wonderfully by an excellent cast. An amazing movie that is perfect for the holidays, highly recommended!

Please visit us for our Friday Feature Review where TMJ Partners will review books, movies, conferences and anything else with a financial theme. Follow us now for our free weekly updates, just click here. Thank you for reading and learning more about how money is made in finance! 

If you are interested in Sales & Trading, Banking or FinTech focused roles in Asia or Japan then click here. Follow TMJ Partners on Linkedin Instagram or Twitter. We are the world's #1 recruiter on Twitter, with over 50,000+ followers globally! click here! 

あなたがアジアや日本のセールストレーディング,
バンキング、フィンテックの役割に興味がある場合は、こちらをクリックしてください。ティエムジェィパートナーズをLinkedin Instagram またはTwitterでフォローしてください！ 世界中のTwitterで第1位のリクルーター、50,000以上のフォロワーを既に持っています！クリックしてください。

For more Buy-Side and Sell-Side roles in Asia-Pacific, contact our TMJ Partners Japan & Asia Finance team.
Tokyo                                          Tokyo

      Mark  Pink                               Shinichi Nagasawa
Direct + 81 3 3505 3891              Direct + 81 3 3505 3891