GONZAGA, ANGELIE P.

ACT172-C5.12
Financial Management

MOVIE REVIEW: The Wolf of Wallstreet (2013)

The movie is entitled “The Wolf of Wall Street” which was released in 2013 and
directed by Martin Scorsese. The protagonist was played by Leonardo DiCaprio
alongside Margot Robbie, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, and Jon
Bernthal. It's been called "abhorrent and shameless," "exciting and tiring," "disgusting
and revealing," and "one of the most fascinating documentaries ever done about
heinous males." Terence Winter's adaptation of stockbroker Jordan Belfort's biography,
which oozed his way into a fortune in the 1980s and 1990s, is an excessive picture of
excess, and a film about appetites whose own desire for obsessive pleasures appears
endless.
Jordan Belfort (Leonardo De Caprio) is hired as a "connection" at a famous New
York City trading business at the beginning of the film (a phone dialer for traders). He is
instantly taken under the wing of an unethical and highly successful senior broker Mark
Hanna (Matthew McConaughey), who sees this gorgeous and ambitious young man's
desire for riches, power, and success. Belfort is inducted into the land of getting ahead
and aiming for number one over a three-martini lunch topped off with cocaine, where
the Wall Street crowd is actively making gobs of money while normal folks are fighting
simply to exist and pay their expenses. Belfort's selfish goals are temporarily derailed by
Black Monday in October 1987, but he soon finds a new challenge at a storefront
brokerage business in a Long Island strip mall. The traders there is a motley crew that
deals in penny stocks. Belfort charms everyone with his fluent phone pitches and
quickly has a small circle of devoted followers. They have no qualms about swindling
money from those who have very little of it and are anxious to save their houses from
foreclosure. In a sign of the times, a smear campaign against Belfort in Forbes
Magazine works to his advantage, and soon there are swarms of young stockbrokers
clamoring to work for his new business. Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill) takes over as his
right-hand guy and shares his cocaine addiction. Belfort's fortune rises as the business
produces more money, and his excess knows no bounds. After divorcing his first wife,
who has grown tired of his womanizing, he marries Nadine Naomi (Margot Robbie), an
attractive showcase prop in his growing domain. His sexual addiction is unaffected by
his marriage. Prostitutes are grateful for all of the labor he does for them during staff
parties. Dwarves are tossed toward a target in a workplace competition during one of
these festivities. This selfish, vulgar, foul-mouthed, and immoral man's excesses are
endless.
Consequently, we needed to absorb the principles given in the film. First, money
can affect your relationship with others. It indicates that if you have money, some of
your friends and acquaintances would appreciate it. Many will approach you when you
have money but abandon you when you don't. Second, failure does not mean the end. It
is the most powerful weapon in the success arsenal. You will never pursue success
unless you have had your fair share of failure. Like the protagonist in the movie, Belfort
GONZAGA, ANGELIE P.
ACT172-C5.12
Financial Management

began his career selling meat and fish. He failed. Take failure as a detour rather than a
stop sign. Rethink and alter your plan if needed. Third, an organization that maintains
healthy relationships is a must. Selfishness has no place in your company and will only
lead to internal strife. The more qualified worker is not necessarily the better worker
when compared to the one who will go the extra mile for you. Gather a group of people
whom you can trust to go the additional mile for you. Lastly, if you want people to
believe and listen, you must be a good speaker. In the business world, you have a lot of
competitors therefore you need to stand out. Having a brilliant idea for a business will
not be enough to start and survive. As a starter, who still doesn’t have a name in the
industry, it is necessary to be a good speaker just like Belfort. Penny stock is unpopular
at that time however since he has good communication skills, he was able to make
potential clients listen and believe which led him to his success.
Moreover, this movie is related to the topic of Risk and Return and Stock
valuation. Before investing your money in any stocks, you need to acknowledge the risk
as well as the return. Understanding the basic knowledge and principles may help
anyone to achieve ultimate success in this industry. The optimal risk-return tradeoff is
determined by several criteria, including an investor's risk tolerance, the number of
years till retirement, and the ability to replenish lost money. Time is also important in
establishing the optimal levels of risk and return in a portfolio. In the movie, there are
lots of investors/clients who put their money in stock but they do not assess the risk
during their investment therefore they are only thinking about the return. However, this
does not mean that risk should be avoided instead it should be managed carefully.
Another mistake the future client shown in the movie is they do not thoroughly examine
and study the background of the stock they are investing in. They only rely upon the
words of the “brokers” which is an advantage for the brokers but opposite to the
investor. As future accountants and business owners, we must take this movie as a
precaution when we invest in the future. In conclusion, having enough information about
what you are doing and using it intelligently will give you ultimate success in this
industry.