No Shame in Game of 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) listens attentively as Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) tells it like it 'tis on The Street in "The Wolf of Wall Street." Photos from "The Wolf of Wall Street" Facebook page.

YOURS Truly has been mulling over “The Wolf of Wall Street” since she screened it more than a week ago.

The film, based on the best-selling book of the same name by former scheister Wall Street stock broker and current motivational speaker Jordan Belfort, had its world premiere in New York City on 17 Dec.

It opened wider in the country on Christmas Day (25 Dec.). Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the former defanged broker in a film directed by frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese. Both men are among the film’s producers.

“The Wolf of Wall Street” has been on the brain because I do not recall the last film that left me so conflicted. Pressed to produce a title, I’d cite “Gone With the Wind.” I love it, though I should not, considering its content.

The former film has filled me with a far greater disquietedness, however. It has only been the last couple of days that I have been able to articulate why, a disclosure that I will make shortly. Critically, “The Wolf of Wall Street” has been generally well-received. Already, LDiC and MS have been nominated for awards; other nominations are sure to follow. (See trailer below).

The accolades are understandable. Is it even possible for MS to misdirect a film? Of course, yet he rarely does. As for LDiC, he has become an actor with a capital A. He’s proved that he is a dramatic actor. But in “The Wolf of Wall Street” he shows that he can manage the far more difficult business that is the comedic performance.

“The Wolf of Wall Street” is definitely a dramedy. When LDiC has to be serious as Jordan, whom he resembles, he is quite good. However, when he is required to bring the funny, he is even better. The long scene that begins at the WASP country club and ends in Jordan’s kitchen about a mile away is uproarious. In those few minutes, LDiC brings to mind Cary Grant, specifically in “Bringing Up Baby.” There are numerous laugh-out loud scenes in “The Wolf of Wall Street. One of the most memorable is toward the beginning of the film and involves Matthew McConaughey.

MMcC has a cameo role as Mark Hanna, a top dog at the first brokerage that employs Jordan before the stock market crash of 1987. He makes very good use of his short time on screen and gives new meaning to the multiple-martini lunch. Don’t be surprised to see MMcC’s moniker on some “Best Supporting Actor” nomination lists; ditto for Jonah Hill’s (Donnie Azoff).

The latter plays Jordan’s partner (whose name has been changed in the film, the case for most of the main players) in Stratton Oakmont, the penny stock firm that Jordan founded shortly after the crash. Indeed, the film boasts a very strong supporting cast, including Margot Robbie as Jordan’s second wife, Naomi. Don’t be surprised to see the name of the Australian newcomer on some “Best Supporting Actress” lists, in part for her command of the Long Island, New York accent.

Katarina Čas as money mule Chantalle in "The Wolf of Wall Street."

“The Wolf of Wall Street” is well-directed. It is also well-acted. So, what’s not to like? It is important to note that Jordan Belfort was a drug and sex addict; this is chronicled in the book. In fact, during that memorable lunch scene, Mark gives an uncorrupted, but eager Jordan to know that the way forward in their business is drugs and sex – pretty much in that order.

Therein lies the crux of my consternation. “The Wolf of Wall Street” gorges itself on sex and drug scenes, as well as general hedonism. It is the sex scenes, however, that still haunt me. Women are terribly demeaned (and men, too, for that matter). In “Gone With the Wind,” blacks are demeaned, but the scenes are not grossly offensive.

No such defense can be made for “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Hollywood standards and practices have become so relaxed and permissive that almost anything goes. And in this film, almost anything does go. Indeed, the going was so bullish at one juncture that MS had to edit some sex scenes to avoid an NC-17 rating, almost certain box-office death for many films. Can't you just imagine that meeting with the suits from Paramount, the film's distributor, trying to diplomatically make such a suggestion to a legendary, Oscar-winning director who generally retains creative control of his projects?

Incidentally, it is too early to prognosticate about how "The Wolf of Wall Street" will do at the box office. Open in the United States at the moment in around 2,500 theaters, it did about $9.1 million and $6.6 million on 25 Dec. and 26 Dec., respectively. The top film for both days, "The Hobbitt: The Desolation of Smaug" on roughly 3,900 screens, brought in $9.3 million and $10.5 million. U.S. audiences won't likely gear into full moviegoing mode until this weekend. Stay tuned for more numbers on Monday (30 Dec.).

But I digress. I am of the school of thought that subscribes to the notion that just because something is written in a book or dreamed up in a mind does not mean that it has to be done precisely so on the screen. Some things can, must and should be left to the imagination. MS leaves very little room for imagining here.

Countless are the sex scenes that could have been excluded. The one featuring the “penny stock” prostitute belongs at the top of the list, closely followed by the airplane scene of Jordan’s Las Vegas-bound bachelor party, and the nursery scene involving his second wife, Naomi, in which she graphically informs her husband of what he will not be getting any of. These women are mothers, daughters, sisters, cousins, aunts. They deserve better, regardless of how far they've fallen or how much they have compromised.

Film audiences in many countries have been numbed by drugs, violence and sex. “The Wolf of Wall Street” continues the powerful anesthetic. MS could have easily borrowed a page from Vincent Minnelli's “The Bad and the Beautiful,” for instance. Kirk Douglas’ movie producer is far more depraved than Jordan Belfort and he was sober. Still, the 1952 film left much to the imagination, perhaps or not, owing solely to standards and practices of the time.

Martin Scorsese (center) directing Margot Robbie and Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Wolf of Wall Street."

Of course, Wall Street will eat up “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and probably take inspiration from it. But one wonders on Main Street whether the film will prove equally disturbing for men as it should for women on any street. What am I saying – and I am not a prude or so-called feminazi? This film should prove colossally disturbing, in spite of the talent involved, for anyone who sees it.

In a word, shame. Shame on Martin Scorsese. Shame on Leo DiCaprio. Shame on Jordan Belfort, the son of accountants, for writing such smut – yes, smut!!! Just because these events happened and Jordan is required to turn over millions in restitution to those he swindled does not mean that a book about his boorish behavior had to be written and the most salacious aspects fed to the moviegoing public. These events have zero redeeming value.

Shame on me, Yours Truly, for not walking out of the screening, instead staying until the bitter, three-hour end of a film that does deserves an NC-17 or greater rating.

Shame, shame, shame on everyone involved in the making of “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Shame!

"The Wolf of Wall Street" is rated R for sequences of strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language throughout, and for some violence; visit http://www.thewolfofwallstreet.com to learn more about the film.

'Bad 25' Is About the Man and His Music, not the Madness

SPIKE Lee had a mandate from both the Michael Jackson Estate and Sony Music Entertainment: focus on the music and the art.

He followed through, and the result is “Bad 25,” the documentary that celebrates the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's iconic “Bad” album. It recounts the making of the album one track at a time.

The film makes its U.S. debut today in New York only for a weeklong run at the Loews AMC Theater (66 Third Ave). It will make its TV debut at 9:30 p.m. EST on 22 Nov. on ABC.

While “Bad 25” does not focus on the personal problems and peccadilloes of the King of Pop, his eccentricity comes through. For it is impossible to be that talented and not have a few oddball habits, and MJ – God love ’im – had his share. In his defense, however, he was at the time of the "Bad" recording trying to top (or come close) “Thriller,” which is still the biggest selling album of all time. Imagine the pressure!

“Bad 25” had its world premiere at the 69th Venice Film Festival on 31 Aug., exactly 25 years after the release of the “Bad” album and two days after the anniversary of MJ’s birthday. The film, which had its North American premiere at the 37th Toronto Film Festival, reveals a number of details that fans will savor. (See video above of SL at a press conference after the Venice screening of “Bad 25” and a video clip from the documentary below)

Without a doubt, SL is an MJ fan, and he doesn’t pretend otherwise. In fact, he admits it. Only one year older, he wanted to be MJ and the Jackson Five. His adulation, notwithstanding, doesn’t mean his film is revisionist propaganda. It is not, though at moments it feels a bit too adulatory. As SL says during the Venice press conference, “I think there were too many years, we – and I’m gonna include myself – we concentrated on stuff about Michael Jackson that had nothing to do with the music. This is a time to just concentrate on the music of Michael Jackson. It was a chance to dig into his creative process.”

The director also speaks with many who were influenced by MJ, as well as collaborators, including Quincy Jones and Martin Scorsese, who directed the “Bad” video.

Put the focus on the artistry – which even MJ’s most ardent detractors can’t deny – and the result can easily be “Bad 25.” To help tell the “Bad” story, SL uses never-before-seen footage – a huge benefit of having the cooperation of both the estate and the record company.

“We all are blessed with the final work but it is rare that you get to see how something is put together,” SL shared with his audience in Venice. “We don't see the blood, sweat and tears – all of the work that goes into how the masters work.”

Now, we do.

“Bad 25” will be showing from 26 Oct. through 2 Nov. at the Chinese 6 Theaters (6801 Hollywood Blvd.) in Hollywood.

'Side by Side': Is World Big Enough for Digital and Film?

“IT’S exciting because it’s a reinvention of a new medium,” director Martin Scorsese says. ”If the photo chemical process has worked its way through our culture, we’re on to another level.

This is the reply of the Oscar-winning director of “Hugo” and other notable films to a question by Keanu Reeves about film and digital in “Side by Side.” The film opens today in New York City after screening in Los Angeles and Boston and will be rolling out in select cities across the country over the next couple of months.

Directed and written by Chris Kenneally, “Side by Side” in tracking the evolution of cinema asks whether digital should replace film for making movies or whether they can they co-exist. Host and producer KR puts these questions to a who’s who of directors. Responses are heartfelt, thoughtful, blunt and redolent of nostalgia. (See trailer above).

“You can’t shoot 3D on film,” James Cameron (“Avatar”) says emphatically. “So, film has been dead in my heart for 10 years.

Counters another, “I hate 3D. I put on those glasses and I get sick to my stomach. The whole 3D phenomenon, it’s a marketing scheme isn’t it?

“Side by Side” addresses a hot-button issue that is revolutionizing industries in real time. Can both formats exist – side by side – in a climate where audiences have become accustomed to unprecedented picture clarity?

More important, however, is that digital has democratized moviemaking. Just about anyone with access to digital equipment can make a film – even on a phone. But what of the adverse effects on the economy if movies are only made digitally? Is that the sound of jobs drying up?

The debate almost parrots what is happening in print journalism. The advent of digital will continue to challenge the status quo and traditions of any number of industries; consider what’s happening in music.

CK will do Q&As after the New York screenings of “Side by Side” at both Quad Cinema (http://www.quadcinema.com/) and the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center. (http://www.bit.ly/Owi0dK)

One hopes that both digital and film can co-exist – even if it is a fragile one like with newspapers/periodicals and online, for it would seem that the consequences of wholly abandoning film for digital would be enormous. Yet there are those who – if not exactly calling for the death of film – have walked away from it into the warm embrace of digital.

“I really felt I should call film on the phone and say I met someone,” says Steven Soderbergh (“The Hunger Games”).

"Side by Side" is available on VOD all over the United States and on VOD in Canada exclusively through Rogers Anyplace TV (http://www.rogersondemand.com/).Visit http://www.sidebysidethemovie.com/ to learn more about "Side by Side."

NY Film Festival Sheds Some of Its Stodginess

The 48th New York Film Festival opens today and has a lot on offer until it closes on 10 Oct. Among the film offerings is "Black Venus" with Andre Jacobs and Yahima Torres, above. In descending order, Edgar Ramirez as "Carlos," Carlos Villar and Lupita Tovar in a Spanish-language "Dracula," a scene from "Pale Flower," as well as Bryce Dallas and Matt Damon in "Hereafter." Photo credits: "Black Venus"/MK2 Productions; "Carlos"/Film en Stock; "Dracula"/Universal Pictures; "Pale Flower"/Courtesy of The Criterion Collection; "Hereafter"/Warner Bros.

HEAD’S UP: Welcome to the debut of “Reel Bits.” It is to be a twice-/ thrice-monthly digest of goings-on in film. While Yours Truly will usually publish Reel Bits on Friday – ditto for standalone film stories/reviews – it may from time to time appear on another day of the week as breaking news dictates. It is fitting that the start of Reel Bits coincides with the opening of a major film festival.

ONE of the most infamous, heart-wrenching atrocities that emerged from the barbaric African slave trade is that of the so-called “Hottentot Venus,” lesser known by her actual name: Saartjie Baartman. SB was the well-endowed woman/slave who was taken from her homeland of South Africa and deposited in European capitals for so-called civilized folks to prod, paw and peep at.

In “Black Venus,” from French-Arab director Abdellatif Kechiche (“The Secret of the Grain”), Cuban actress Yahima Torres imbues the pitiable character with dignity and determination in the face of humiliation and certain doom. The film, shocking and graphic, has been generally well-received and was nominated for the Golden Lion award at the 67th Venice International Film Festival earlier this month.

“Black Venus” (screening at 6 p.m./7 Oct. and 8:30 p.m./9 Oct. at Alice Tully Hall) is one of 28 feature-length films from 14 countries showing in the 48th New York Film Festival, which this year is presenting a number of higher-profile, less esoteric works.

A festival screening and gala screening of “The Social Network” this evening officially opens NYFF. (NYFF shutters on 10 Oct.) Interest in this one (screening at 6 p.m./9 p.m. at Alice Tully Hall) about the rise and fall of Facebook founders Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg - aka the 35th richest person ($6.9B) on Forbes’ latest 400 list - is intense. It seems that MZ is not cast in the best light in this allegory of sorts from the pen of Aaron Sorkin (“A Few Good Men”/“The West Wing”), about greed, over-privilege, social ineptitude and gross behavior. Not to be one-upped by an unflattering film, MZ disclosed yesterday that he has pledged $100 million to the Newark, NJ school system. The official announcement is to be made today during an appearance on “Oprah,” provoking praise and pillorying.

Creating just as much buzz for its nearly 5-1/2 hour-length as its pace and muscular performance by Edgar Ramirez in the title role is “Carlos.” Ilich Ramírez Sánchez aka Carlos the Jackal attained international infamy after he led a 1975 raid on OPEC headquarters in Vienna that resulted in the deaths of several, including some French intelligence types. From French director Olivier Assayas, the film is told in three parts and is airing that way on French television. Reportedly at Cannes, there was not an intermission until the 3-1/2 hour mark. It will be interesting to learn where that plumb line will be dropped for American audiences taking in this roller-coaster ride, described by some as a cross between “The Bourne Identity” and “Munich.”

One also wonders what the Jackal – so named by The Guardian, legend has it, after a copy of “The Day of the Jackal” was found amongst some of his personal items – thinks of the film chronicling his fascinating life. At the moment the Venezuelan's home is a French prision. (Screening at 11 a.m. on 2 Oct at Alice Tully Hall)

In addition to the festival’s Main Slate are several other categories. One of the Special Events screenings is George Melford’s 1931 Spanish version of “Dracula” accompanied by Gary Lucas’ live guitar. One interesting bit of trivia: this version was filmed on the same sets and at the same time as the Bela Lugosi vehicle. The English-language version was filmed during the day; its Spanish-language counterpart at night. (Screening at 9:30 p.m. on 9 Oct.).

Another with a must-see pedigree is the documentary, “A Letter to Elia,” directors Martin Scorsese and Kent Jones’ tender tribute to one of MS’s major influences, the great Elia Kazan. It will be screened with EK’s epic and deeply personal, “America, America.” The 1963 film was nominated for four Oscars and won one: Best Art Direction, Black-and-White (Screening at 6:15 p.m. on 27 Sept.)

“Elegant Elegies: The Films of Masahiro Shinoda, is one bookend of the Masterworks section (shown at the Walter Reade Theater). Here are 12 films, mostly classics, from the Japanese New Wave member, including “Pale Flower (Kawaita Hana).” (Screening at 7:30 p.m. on 25 Sept. and at 4 p.m. on 27 Sept.)
Masahiro Shinoda himself is expected at several screenings: “Pale Flower,” as well as “Melody in Gray aka The Ballad of Orin (Hanare goze Orin)”/5:45 p.m. on 26 Sept., and “Double Suicide (Shinju Ten no Amishima)”/8:15 p.m. on 26 Sept. … “Fernando de Fuentes’ Mexican Revolution Trilogy” is the other bookend. The seminal works are “Prisoner 13 (El prisionero trece)”/6 p.m. on 29 Sept; “El Compadre Mendoza”/ 7:35 p.m. on 29 Sept., and “Let’s Go with Pancho Villa (Vamanos con Pancho Villa)”/6:15 p.m. on 30 Sept.

A festival-within-a-festival of experimental films falls under the rubric, Views from the Avant-Garde (30 Sept.-3 Oct.). Mainly shorts, the offerings are grouped under themes such as “History is Homemade at Night: The Crazy, Beautiful World of Jeff Keen” (3:30 p.m. on 1 Oct./Walter Reade Theater) and “Visibility Unknown" (at 5:30 p.m. on 2 Oct./ Walter Reade Theater)

Finally, HBO Films’ Director Dialogues rounds out the last noncompetitive category. One submitting to an interview is director/designer Julie Taymor. The two-time Tony winner for “The Lion King” and Oscar winner for the lush “Frida” will jaw about her career influences and creative process, including the joys and challenges of applying a modern gloss to “The Tempest,” the festival’s centerpiece. With Columbia University professor James Shapiro (5 p.m. on 3 Oct./Kaplan Penthouse)

Closing the festival is “Hereafter” from Clint Eastwood aka Rowdy Yates/Man with no name. The octogenarian last had a presence at NYFF with “The Changeling" in 2008. “Hereafter” finds Matt Damon, Cécile de France and others in intersecting storylines that ponder whether we can communicate with those who have passed on, in some alternate portals between life and death. It’s supposed to be more profound than a Ouija board experience. (Screening at 7 p.m./10 p.m. at Alice Tully Hall).

Stay tuned, I'll be making comments on films, etc. throughout the festival.

Visit www.filmlinc.com to learn more about the 48th New York Film Festival.