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Post by martinw8686 on Mar 25, 2023 16:57:09 GMT
I generally really enjoy Martin Scorcese films but The Wolf of Wall Street leaves me with a sick taste in my mouth.
It's not that I think the film is bad but that almost all the characters are morally reprehensible, despicable and without any redeeming features, the lead charecter learns no lesson and he appears to profit from his downfall at the films end.
The whole film appears to be an orgy of over privileged sharks living a hedonistic lifestyle, pursuing a warped elitist dream. I realise the film is satirical and not every protagonist has to be a Saint but I thoroughly despise the lead characters in the film and resent that a movie was made about these real life individuals that some will see as glorifying them.
Apologies for the rant, just don't get the love some people have for the film. Am I missing something?
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Post by mark687 on Mar 25, 2023 18:48:57 GMT
I generally really enjoy Martin Scorcese films but The Wolf of Wall Street leaves me with a sick taste in my mouth. It's not that I think the film is bad but that almost all the characters are morally reprehensible, despicable and without any redeeming features, the lead charecter learns no lesson and he appears to profit from his downfall at the films end. The whole film appears to be an orgy of over privileged sharks living a hedonistic lifestyle, pursuing a warped elitist dream. I realise the film is satirical and not every protagonist has to be a Saint but I thoroughly despise the lead characters in the film and resent that a movie was made about these real life individuals that some will see as glorifying them. Apologies for the rant, just don't get the love some people have for the film. Am I missing something? Ironically I like it I think its DiCaprio and Hill's best Acting they really sell their characters, if Denim had by played by De Niro or Duvall (so someone after their last Big Whale as opposed to someone trying to make a Name), I think it'd be just as fondly judged as Taxi Driver and Goodfellas and last but no means least Margot Robbie! Regards mark687 |
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Post by martinw8686 on Mar 25, 2023 20:14:00 GMT
Although I strongly dislike the film, I can't fault the filmmaking and performances, I just really object to the characters and morals of the film. It feels to me like it's glorifying irredeemably unpleasant people.
I guess it just touches a nerve for me, I'm sure there's an element of hypocrisy to my feelings as I'm not as worked up by other films about criminals.
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Post by Kestrel on Apr 11, 2023 2:40:09 GMT
The whole film appears to be an orgy of over privileged sharks living a hedonistic lifestyle, pursuing a warped elitist dream. I realise the film is satirical.... I mean, maybe I'm being too reductive, but I think this is basically it. You may realize it's satire, but plenty of people just see the conspicuous consumption and glamor of the super-rich and think, "Hey, wow, that's so cool." Those folks? They don't know it's satire, and/or don't care. Not to jump up on my soapbox or anything here, but I'd argue that the most fundamental aspect of satire (or more broadly, subtlety in general) is that it doesn't work. Satire is a mirror that can only show us what we want to see -- this is why you can get films like Fight Club and The Matrix and Scarface and Starship Troopers that appeal equally to those that "get it" and those who "don't." An anti-fascist will watch Starship Troopers and like it for making fun of fascists; fascists will watch the same movie right beside them and they'll like Starship Troopers for portraying fascists as "cool" and "badass" and whatever. This is why men calling Fight Club their favorite film is such an enormous red flag -- they don't tend to like that movie because they understand it's themes, but because they don't.So something like Wolf of Wall Street likewise gets to double-dip, appealing to both audiences. For as many people who look at the characters and think, "Wow, these people are irredeemably despicable," just as many see them as role models, inundated with the wealth and status they constantly aspire to having themselves. .... I... I might have gone off on a bit of a tangent there. Sorry. |
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shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
Likes: 5,677 
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Post by shutupbanks on Apr 11, 2023 5:19:35 GMT
Tom Hanks was interviewed not long after Bonfire Of The Vanities came out (don’t watch it: it’s a terrible film that misunderstands nearly everything about the book it’s based on except for the core message/theme) and he said that he’d had some Wall Street types say to him that they really felt for his character. His character was a stockbroker who broke down in a rough part of town while driving with his mistress to an assignation, and then kills a kid by accident. and he had people coming up to him saying that they felt for a guy who then spends the rest of the story trying to cover up and then minimise his involvement in the incident. I’m not surprised that there are people who can’t see beyond the surface of a story and just see someone like them trying to get out of trouble.
It’s something that goes back further, past Bonfire and American Psycho, past Wall Street and even back as far as Gatsby or the work of Edith Wharton: people frequently ignore the message and concentrate on the medium.
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Post by martinw8686 on Apr 11, 2023 8:31:03 GMT
Excellent points on satire and how the message can go unnoticed, and glamourise the intended subject.
The Wolf of Wall Street made me feel really uncomfortable, any film that potentially glamourises toxic masculinity is a red flag for me.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2023 1:48:35 GMT
It's a comedy and a satire on the excesses of the American Dream. Like a lot of Scorsese films you are supposed to find there's no protagonist. It's all about exploring the debauchery. Just as Taxi Driver was about the isolation of a post-Vietnam loner, Raging Bull about wasting your gifts and becoming a parody of yourself or Goodfellas and Casino being about the falseness of a criminal life and how it turns you paranoid, unable to trust and living a superficial life.
Arrow's recent 4K is STUNNING, loads of extras and the coolest packaging of the year.
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Apr 19, 2023 3:06:23 GMT
I had the house to myself for a few hours Sunday, it was on Netflix. Watched it again and thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Apr 19, 2023 9:49:31 GMT
Perfect timing ! belfort.onelifeclub.com/Just announced - a series of seminars from Jordan Belfort, the real life character Leo portrayed in the movie, in Australia 23rd to 25th May, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. ! |
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