Leonardo DiCaprio Defends ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’

Leonardo DiCaprio has defended his new film ‘The Wold of Wall Street’, hitting back at those who claim it glamorizes a life of crime and makes it appealing to viewers to copy the actions seen in the film. He thinks some people have “misunderstood” the film because he believes it is really a cautionary tale for those who take part in crime:

 ”This film may be misunderstood by some; I hope people understand we’re not condoning this behaviour, that we’re indicting it. The book [of the same name] was a cautionary tale and if you sit through the end of the film, you’ll realise what we’re saying about these people and this world, because it’s an intoxicating one.”

He praises the film’s director Martin Scorsese for making something that is a bit controversial because it makes people think and opens conversations which he thinks makes it interesting for people:

”I think it’s amazing somebody like Martin Scorsese is still making films that are vital and talked about, and have an element of controversy about them and are appealing to people of my generation. We grew up watching his films and he’s still making stuff that’s punk rock. It’s an amazing achievement.”

Leo adds that the story was very interesting to him because of how honest a tale it is and how it opens people’s minds to what happened during that period:

 ”The severe honesty in which Jordan Belfort portrayed a hedonistic time in his life on Wall Street … it’s rare when someone is unafraid to divulge how dark they went. With all these people on Wall Street who’ve screwed over so many people since 2008, I became obsessed with playing a character who made me understand the mentality and nature of the seduction of Wall Street and greed. I appreciated his honesty.”

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