In The Wolf of Wall Street DiCaprio plays Belfort, a Long Island penny stockbroker who served 36 months in prison for defrauding investors in a massive 1990s securities scam that involved widespread corruption on Wall Street and in the corporate banking world, including shoe designer Steve Madden.
The Wolf of Wall Street is a biographical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, based on Jordan Belfort’s memoir of the same name. The screenplay was written by Terence Winter, and the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Belfort, along with other cast members including Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughey, among others. The Wolf of Wall Street marks a fifth collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio, and a second with Winter after Boardwalk Empire.
Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) begins a low-level job at an established Wall Street firm. After being taken under the wing of company executive Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) and becoming a licensed stockbroker, he is retrenched due to the firm’s bankruptcy following Black Monday.
Belfort’s wife Teresa (Cristin Milioti) encourages him to take a job with a Long Island boiler room dealing in penny stocks. Belfort impresses his new boss with his aggressive pitching style, and earns a small fortune for the firm and himself. Belfort befriends Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill), a salesman living in the same apartment complex, and they go into business together along with his accountant parents and several friends. To cloak the fact the firm is a pump and dump scam, Belfort gives it the respectable name of Stratton Oakmont, shortly after which FBI Agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler) begins investigating the firm.
Belfort begins an affair with Naomi Lapaglia (Margot Robbie) resulting in his divorce from Teresa and a second marriage to Lapaglia, buying a mansion and a yacht that he names after her. They have a daughter, Skylar. At work, meanwhile, Belfort, Azoff and colleagues engage in non-stop debauchery and drug use.
Belfort makes $22 million after securing the IPO of Steve Madden Ltd. To hide his money, Belfort opens a Swiss bank account with a corrupt banker Jean-Jacques Saurel (Jean Dujardin) using friends with European passports to smuggle cash. It is opened in the name of Naomi’s aunt Emma (Joanna Lumley), a British citizen outside the reach of U.S. authorities.
Belfort’s father Max (Rob Reiner) and lawyer Manny (Jon Favreau) attempt to convince Belfort to step down from Stratton Oakmont and escape the large number of legal penalties. However, during his office farewell, Belfort changes his mind.
Belfort, Donnie and their wives are on a yacht trip to Italy when they learn that Emma has died so the money in the Swiss bank account is locked up. While Emma left the money to Belfort, he has to go to Switzerland the next day to sign for it. Over his grieving wife’s objections, Belfort sails to Monaco when a violent storm capsizes their yacht. After their rescue, the plane sent to take them to Geneva is destroyed by a seagull flying into the engine, exploding and killing three people. Witnessing this, Belfort considers it a sign from God and decides to sober up.
Two years later, Denham arrests Belfort during the filming of an infomercial after Saurel tells the FBI everything. With the evidence against him overwhelming, Belfort agrees to gather evidence on his colleagues in exchange for leniency.
Belfort expresses optimism about his sentencing to his wife, who promptly informs him she will file for divorce, demanding full custody of their two children. Belfort throws a violent tantrum, gets high, and crashes his car in his driveway during an attempt to abscond with a frightened Skylar. The next morning, Belfort wears a wire to work, silently slipping Donnie a note warning him not to say anything incriminating. The note finds its way to Agent Denham, who arrests Belfort for breaching his cooperation deal; the FBI then raids and shuts down Stratton Oakmont.
Despite the breach, Belfort receives a reduced sentence of 36 months in a minimum security federal prison in Nevada. After his release, Belfort makes a living hosting seminars on sales techniques in New Zealand.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Kyle Chandler, Jean Dujardin, Margot Robbie, Jon Favreau, Cristin Milioti, Matthew McConaughey
Screenplay by: Terence Winter
Production Design by: Bob Shaw
Cinematography by: Rodrigo Prieto
Film Editing by: Thelma Schoonmaker
Costume Design by: Sandy Powell
Set Decoration by: Ellen Christiansen
Music by: Howard Shore
MPAA Rating: R for sequences of strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language throughout, and for some violence.
Studio; Paramount Pictures
Release Date: November 15, 2013
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