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Our take
Based on a real stockbroker's rise and fall through fraud, this long, fast comedy is built to shock. Explicit sex and nudity, nonstop hard drug use, and some of the heaviest swearing in mainstream film fill the runtime. There is domestic violence, a reckless scene with a child in the car, and a whole culture of greed and cruelty played for dark laughs. Keep this one for adults.
Uplifting themes
The emptiness behind the lead's choices, and their fallout, eventually catch up with him, lending the excess a faint cautionary edge. Any lesson stays thin, since the film spends far longer revelling in the party than regretting it
Story (may spoil tone)
A New York stockbroker refuses to cooperate in a large securities fraud case involving corruption on Wall Street, corporate banking world and mob infiltration. Based on Jordan Belfort's autobiography.
What we flagged
Details
Violence Behind closed doors the excess curdles, as the lead shoves and strikes…
Behind closed doors the excess curdles, as the lead shoves and strikes his wife and tears their small child from her arms. Between drug-fuelled car crashes and a messy brawl, the aggression feels real even with no weapons involved
Language Swearing runs wall to wall, led by hundreds of f-words alongside the s-…
Swearing runs wall to wall, led by hundreds of f-words alongside the s-word and crude sexual slurs. Few mainstream films come anywhere near this foul-mouthed
Sex / nudity Explicit sex, orgies, full nudity, and constant talk of prostitutes thr…
Explicit sex, orgies, full nudity, and constant talk of prostitutes thread through the entire film. The content is graphic and frequent, pushed for shock and excess, leaving very little to the imagination
Drugs / alcohol Cocaine, quaaludes, crack, and heavy drinking fill nearly every scene,…
Cocaine, quaaludes, crack, and heavy drinking fill nearly every scene, laid out in loving, almost step-by-step detail and treated as a high. The drug use drives the whole story and rarely draws any consequence at the time
Frightening A storm wrecks a yacht and one bad drug reaction turns briefly alarming…
A storm wrecks a yacht and one bad drug reaction turns briefly alarming for the lead. These moments pass quickly, and the overall tone holds its darkly comic edge throughout
Child peril / abuse Out of his mind on drugs, the lead straps his young daughter into the c…
Out of his mind on drugs, the lead straps his young daughter into the car and crashes, then snatches her during a vicious custody fight. She comes to no harm, but a reckless, out-of-control parent puts a child in genuine danger
Bullying / discrimination Women are relentlessly objectified, little people are hired to be hurle…
Women are relentlessly objectified, little people are hired to be hurled for sport, and homophobic and crude remarks fly without a second thought. That casual cruelty is baked right into the culture the film puts on screen
Gore / death / weapons A couple of nasty car crashes leave behind some blood and bruising on t…
A couple of nasty car crashes leave behind some blood and bruising on the people involved. Injury is never really the film's focus, so serious wound detail stays fairly light throughout
Dangerous behaviour Drug-taking is laid out step by step, driving while wrecked becomes a p…
Drug-taking is laid out step by step, driving while wrecked becomes a punchline, and the fraud schemes are spelled out in detail. Older teens may need a clear word that the film glamourises genuinely dangerous choices
Gambling The high-roller lifestyle spills over into casinos and reckless, show-o…
The high-roller lifestyle spills over into casinos and reckless, show-off betting among the characters. It forms part of the wider backdrop of money, status, and sheer excess
Flashing lights We have not confirmed whether this version contains flashing lights.
We have not confirmed whether this version contains flashing lights.
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Talk after watching
- The film makes a life of fraud and excess look thrilling before it falls apart. How do you separate a fun story from choices you would never want to copy?
- Almost no one here is held up as a role model. What does the film say about money, status, and the cost of chasing them?
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The Wolf of Wall Street
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