The Wolf of Wall Street - Film4

Leonardo DiCaprio is flying high — (Image credit: Mary Cybulski)

Stockbroker Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) makes a fortune after the 1987 Wall Street crash. 4/5 stars

A victim of the financial meltdown, Belfort picks himself up and starts making a tidy, if dodgy, living ripping off gullible investors in the early 1990s by dealing in worthless, cheap shares and embracing all of the coke-snorting, hooker-consorting, dwarf-throwing excesses that far too much money can buy.

However, the net is closing in on his unscrupulous empire...

Director Martin Scorsese's darkly comic true-story drama is exhilarating to watch, despite being far too admiring of its despicable anti-hero. DiCaprio's no-holds-barred performance is dazzling and he also proves to be a brilliant physical comedian (the hilarious scene in which the drug-addled, physically wasted Belfort attempts to open the door of his Lamborghini with his foot will leave you helpless with laughter).

Jonah Hill also shines as his right-hand man, while Matthew McConaughey and Joanna Lumley entertain in supporting roles.

DiCaprio stars in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, in cinemas from Thursday 14th August.

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A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.