Third place:
American Hustle [106 points / 17 votes]
Second place:
The World's End [112 points / 18 votes]
And your winner...
The Wolf of Wall Street [175 points / 27 votes]
"The nature of ensemble is collective, each part essential to the whole; however, if an award had to be given to just one person, the casting director would be the one to take it home. In which case, Ellen Lewis would be collecting her second Best Ensemble Muriel for The Wolf of Wall Street (her first having been for another Scorsese picture, The Departed, in 2006). Lewis has cast all of Scorsese’s features since 1988’s New York Stories. Think of all the great faces, unforgettable mugs and breakthrough character actors the two have given us since. Scorsese’s predilections tend toward tough guys, but the films expose masculine frailties masked by machismo. In light of this, it is illustrative that the first person to begin visualizing his films, the casting director, and the last person to shape them, editor Thelma Schoonmaker, are both women.
There are few women in Wolf, and most of its cast is made up of middle-school minds in grown men’s bodies. For the film to avoid seeming as openly misogynistic as its central characters, the few women it focuses on carry the burden of saying a lot with the little screen time they have. One of the first women we see, standing next to Belfort in the early dwarf-tossing freeze-frame, is Stephanie Kurtzuba’s Kimmy Beltzer, the only woman in the Stratton Oakmont firm to have the same job position and mental disposition as its men. Kimmy is often included within the frame, though barely registers as a character until Belfort’s goodbye speech where he needs to humanize himself and justify his position. He is stepping off the pedestal and isn’t comfortable with his new view. Ignoring the men in the firm, he singles out Kimmy, describing the successful woman she has become before exposing her past as a desperate single mother who had to beg him not only for a job, but for a large advance as well. This disarms Kimmy’s bravado, bringing her to tears. She thanks Belfort for all he has done, calling out “I fucking love you!” Kurtzuba complicates the moment by showing a hint of betrayal beneath her thankful cries. Jordan could only pick himself back up by using Kimmy as a stepladder. Had she shown more resentment or less gratitude, the poignancy of her marginalized character may have been lost.
Belfort’s first wife, Teresa, is played by Cristin Milioti, who first gained prominence as Johnny Sack’s daughter on The Sopranos but is now known for her role as the elusive mother on How I Met Your Mother. Milioti has the type of face a huge sitcom could trust America to instantly adore, and Wolf requires a similar presence from her. Teresa is a hair stylist with undeniable charm and a clear sense of decency. Teresa won’t let Belfort take a job she knows he’ll hate, and finds the penny-stocks firm so he can continue his career. She later points out to him – and the audience - that he is stealing from people who can’t afford it and suggests that he aim to rip off the rich instead. This inspires Jordan to start Stratton Oakmont, where his ambition and desires quickly eclipse his love for Teresa. Once she catches him snorting coke off the breasts of his next ex in front of Trump Tower though, Jordan and his narrative abandon her absolutely.
The second wife is Naomi, a breakout role for Australian actress Margot Robbie. Naomi is so complex, in terms of sexual politics, narrative importance and comedic presence, that Robbie’s staggering beauty may have eclipsed her accomplished performance. She is first, sort of, seen giving Belfort a blow job in the opening monologue. She is formally introduced at a party where her mere presence inspires a luded-up Jonah Hill to masturbate in front of the crowd. Yet she not only holds her own in screaming duels with DiCaprio, she conveys deep admiration towards her beloved aunt, sincere affection for her children and genuine heartbreak when she loses someone close to her. She has to be funny, manipulative, smart, sexy, and self-aware. The last sex scene alone should have guaranteed a supporting actress nomination. Respect is hard to earn for an actress who is so easy to buy as a former Miller Lite girl.
There are other strong female presences in Wolf, most notably Joanna Lumley’s Aunt Emma who looks at Belfort with experienced grace. She recognizes and forgives his sins with class, as they are sins she too was guilty of once upon a time in the 60’s. But let’s be honest here: The world of Wolf belongs mostly to men, and the actors spectacularly show how initially enticing yet ultimately horrifying that world is. Matthew McConaughey introduces Belfort to the potential gains of amorality, and while his chest-thumping tribal-chant charisma plants the seeds of unhinged hedonism, his vices are mild compared to the mutated monstrosity Stratton Oakmont becomes. Jonah Hill’s Donny should be simple caricature - his bleached teeth, faux-glasses and first-cousin coupling make him a broad comedic target - but Hill is able to bring a sincere, if misguided, sense of loyalty to the part. Kenneth Choi’s Chester Ming, Henry Zebrowski’s Sea Otter, P.J. Byrne’s Rugrat, and Jon Bernthal’s Brad are each hilarious and round out Belfort’s fraternity of affable scum. Kyle Chandler’s Agent Denham is the film’s most recognizable human, so he makes a perfect foil, toiling for the greater good as Belfort hustles for greater goods.
At the center of the ensemble, of course, is Leonardo DiCaprio. As with De Niro and Travis Bickle, Jordan Belfort may be DiCaprio’s defining role. From small touches, like a tendency to randomly grope female extras, to broad strokes, like the already canonized physical comedy of the Lemmon sequence, DiCaprio puts everything into his creation of Belfort. He openly mocks past iconic performances, becoming Arnie from What’s Eating Gilbert Grape in an effort to convey the power of ludes and wrapping his arms around Naomi at the bow of a ship, just as Jack held Kate Winslet in Titanic, only Belfort has directed them into disaster and spends more time begging Donnie for drugs than protecting his love. The rest of the ensemble informs DiCaprio’s Belfort, and he feeds off their improvisational energy so that, together, everyone makes the whole sprawling journey feel cohesive. I still think Ellen Lewis deserves the Muriel for assembling the cast, but with over 100 credited actors and actresses validating her decisions, she’ll have a lot of thanking to do." -- Kevin Cecil
See the full results.
No comments:
Post a Comment