I now hate the fact I left The Wolf of Wall Street off my top ten of 2013. I’ve seen it three times now and between my second and third theatrical viewing it never left me. I watched the Lemmons ‘ludes scene over and over again, as well as this clip featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie and suddenly found myself hoping the film would offer up the ultimate upset at the Oscars.
[amz asin=”B00H9KKKAY” size=”small”]Now, after having watched it again on Blu-ray this past week I look over my top ten of 2013 and wonder if any film on that list will be more memorable than Wolf in 10, 20, 50 years time. Certainly some will stick with me, the top three (Her, Inside Llewyn Davis and Before Midnight) for sure, but somewhere within that top five is where Wolf belongs, if not squarely at #1.
Thinking back on it now I can’t help but picture the look on DiCaprio’s face as Matthew McConaughey thumps his chest. I remember the quick flash to a small garage as DiCaprio sells Aerotyne, Donnie admitting to marrying his cousin and attempting to say Steve Madden and then that final scene where it all comes back on us. We, as a society, want to be like Jordan Belfort. We want to be rich and many of us are just looking to be told how to do it, no matter the cost. The thing is, the cost is high. The cost is your integrity and your pride. More than that, the cost is not even recognizing you’ve lost your integrity.
What I loved most about rewatching Wolf was watching it with my wife and hearing her howl with laughter at each and every scene. I feared she would look at it glorified Belfort’s actions rather than condemning them. I told her as much and she just looked at me saying something to the extent of, “The entire film shows him for the ass hole, terrible person he is. What else needs to be done?” I found even more love for her when she said that.
While I still have no problem ordering Her, Inside Llewyn Davis and Before Midnight my numbers 1-3 on my top ten of 2013, I will say I now consider Wolf of Wall Street the most entertaining film of 2013 and in 5-10 years time it may prove to be the most important film released last year.
One thing you can count on is some time within the next few years Wolf of Wall Street will be a featured movie in my Best Movies series, ensuring it has a place on my 2013 page.
You can buy The Wolf of Wall Street on Blu-ray and DVD right now.
