MOVIES
BY RICK LEVIN
492 E. 13th Ave.
CAPITALISM BARES ITS TEETH
The controversial Oscar-nominated flick reflects the dark side in all of us
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET:
Directed by Martin Scorsese. Screenplay by
Terence Winter, based on the book The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort.
Cinematography, Rodrigo Prieto. Editing, Thelma Schoonmaker. Music, Robbie
Robertson. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Jonah Hill, Matthew
McConaughey and Rob Reiner. Red Granite Pictures, 2013. R. 179 minutes.
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F
rom his early career until now, director Martin Scorsese
has been documenting the dark and devious side of The
American Dream, where success achieved in bad faith
leads to spectacular crashes and spiritual bankruptcy.
Scorsese is obsessed with the Cinderella story in reverse,
where the magic slipper shatters into killing shards of glass. Like
some degenerate Catholic reincarnation of Orson Welles, this great
American artist keeps making slightly different version of Citizen
Kane, each one set in some vicious gritty sewer of our grandiose
culture: pro sports with Raging Bull, the Italian-American mob
with Goodfellas, Las Vegas with Casino, celebrity with his
unheralded masterpiece, The King of Comedy.
Scorsese’s latest, The Wolf of Wall Street, is a three-hour epic
based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, a snake oil broker who
made a mint fobbing penny stocks to suckers before flaming out in
a drug-induced ego-trip that landed him in prison. “Wolf,” of
course, is an understatement: Belfort, as expertly portrayed by
Leonardo DiCaprio, is a fucking hyena, and Scorsese depicts him
with a fervent attention to detail that is equal parts Federico Fellini
and Jonathan Swift. Whether he is rabidly cheerleading his office
of con men before they bilk a new round of clients or blowing coke
into the a-hole of a blue-chip hooker, DiCaprio’s Belfort is an
adrenalized specimen of pure appetite and unreconstructed greed
— an insane living symbol, like Bernie Madoff and George Bush,
of the human villainy that has hijacked this country, ripped the
meat off its bones and left its carcass to stink.
Wolf, then, is a fractured fable about our age and where we find
ourselves. That the film has stirred controversy and anger is
telling: Scorsese, in so lushly and lavishly depicting the grotesque
circus of sex, drugs and yachting that Belfort willfully conjured,
has been accused of creating a glamorized brand of capitalist porn,
in which he celebrates more than condemns the sort of chicanery
and corruption that sent Wall Street, and the country with it, into a
tailspin. Such criticism is understandable, but it slightly misses the
point. Scorsese is more messenger than apostle; what he has done
with this ambitious film is create a powerful cultural artifact that
frames one of the greatest crimes of the past half-century, as well
as the all-too-human douchebags who perpetrated it.
See the movie and decide for yourself. Beyond any cant and
slant, Wolf is a delightful spectacle, and evidence of a great
director operating at the peak of his narrative powers, with a cast
and crew that couldn’t be better. As usual, Thelma Schoonmaker’s
editing is superb. Rob Reiner, as Belfort’s father, and Matthew
McConaughey, who plays Belfort’s early mentor Mark Hanna, are
both sharp and funny, and Margot Robbie portrays a stunning slow
burn to divorce as Belfort’s wife.
But it is Jonah Hill, as Belfort’s right-hand man Donnie Azoff, who
is Wolf’s biggest revelation. All teeth and cockeyed leers, Hill gives this
perverted, toadying character just the right blend of charm, churl and
deep, abiding turpitude. Despite the pure aplomb of DiCaprio’s Oscar-
worthy performance, it is, in the end, Hill who leaves the biggest scars
on the viewer’s psyche. We have seen the enemy, and Hill is us. ■
ARTSHOUND
Sniffing out what
you shouldn’t miss
in the arts this week
In Eugene, we like our food locally grown, our clothes locally made and our
beer locally brewed, so why not our films? The Eugene Film Society,
headed by the Bijou’s Edward Schiessl and Joshua Purvis, wants to
support local film production and develop a stronger grassroots film
culture. In collaboration with community partners, the Eugene Film
Society is putting on “Screening & Social” 5 to 8 pm Sunday, Jan. 26, at
Bijou Art Cinemas (13th Avenue location), featuring short cuts of feature
films by locals Henry Weintraub and Scott Kuschel, as well as Schiessl,
highlights from Cinema Pacific and DIVA’s Open Lens Film Festival, the
Bijou’s 72-Hour Film Fest jury prize winner, Repair, with refreshments from
Plank Town Brewing Company, Sizzle Pie, Townshend’s Teahouse and Caffe
Pacori. To find out more, visit bijou-cinemas.com.
What happens to an artist’s life work when she passes away? The
family of late local artist Margaret Vie answered that question with grace
on Jan. 11 at her Celebration of Life memorial at First United Methodist
Church. Vie’s sketches, watercolors and paintings were placed around the
church’s big hall and guests were encouraged to take home a piece in
remembrance of the artist.
43 W. Broadway
Eugene’s biggest dance event of the
year, Dance for a Reason (DFAR),
celebrates its 20th year 7:30 pm Friday,
Jan. 24, at the Hult; $20. This year the
nonprofit recital will benefit the School
Garden Project and feature more than
20 dance organizations and groups
including Kindrid Tribal Belly Dance,
Crazy Diamond Hoop Troupe, Kings
Krew and Ballet Fantastique. With
longtime dancer and teacher Geni
Morrow at its helm, DFAR raised $7,000
for last year’s recipient, Environmental
Law Alliance Worldwide, and has
contributed over $80,000 to local
nonprofits in its 20-year history. For
more info, visit danceforareason.com.
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Beer
Taps
New
Menu!
The Perfect Match:
Dinner & a Movie!
Join us for comfort food and drinks
all day and late night.
First National Taphouse
51 W. Broadway | 541-393-6517
eugeneweekly.com • January 23, 2014
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