This was that rare example of a great film that I just could not enjoy.It was 'great' thanks to the direction - Martin Scorsese does nasty characters better than most; the acting - Leonardo Di Caprio filled the role of crooked stockbroker Jordan Belfort with gusto, and even the otherwise lightweight Jonah Hill proved he's more than just a tubby chuckler; and the story - based on that of the real life swindler who conned hundreds of millions out of mostly modest investors in the 80s all should have made for a thrilling 3 hours of movie magic.
But it didn't. At least for me. I just couldn't see past the revolting character that was Jordan Belfort.
Somehow, Johnny Depp as the cocaine dealer George Jung in Blow, or Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface, even Pacino and Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone in the Godfather series all managed for me to be ruthless in a way that didn't seem to interfere with my enjoyment. But Di Caprio's character really disturbed me - his callousness, debauchery, and sheer ahole-ness just ruined this film. And maybe that criticism should be leveled mainly at Scorsese, who seemed to revel in all this excess, almost celebrating the depths to which these brokers had sunk.
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