The Wolf of Wall Street poster
Movie2013Crime3h

The Wolf of Wall Street

17
HeartGuard scoreStrong cautionAI analysis · How we analyse
Community
0%
appropriate

Scorsese's three-hour satire of a fraudulent stockbroker's rise is relentlessly explicit in sex, drugs and language. Its critique of greed is real, but it is wrapped in excess that the film often makes look like fun.

Watch guide

What's in it?

Language~495 f-words

Profanity is relentless from start to finish, including the c-word, constant crude sexual terms, and homophobic, ableist and racial slurs. Swearing is part of the culture the film portrays and is often played for laughs.

BlasphemyConstant, sometimes mocking

There are over fifty exclamatory uses of God's and Jesus' names, often combined with the f-word. God is also addressed sarcastically, and faith and the church are mentioned only cynically.

Sex and nudityExplicit sex, full nudity

There are repeated explicit sex scenes, frequent full nudity, orgies in the office and on a plane, prostitutes, and graphic sexual talk throughout. A wife uses sex to taunt her husband in the nursery, and the couple's final encounter is explicit.

RelationshipsSerial adultery, abuse

Jordan abandons his first wife for an affair, then routinely uses prostitutes and cheats during his second marriage. The marriage descends into insults, coercive sexual pressure and physical violence, and it ends in divorce.

ViolenceAssaults, domestic violence

A man is dangled and beaten over stolen money, and a staff member is publicly humiliated. Brawls and an arrest at gunpoint are shown. A drugged Jordan crashes his car, and he hits his wife before driving off with their child and crashing into a wall.

Frightening scenesTense, upsetting moments

Friends choke and nearly die while high. A yacht sinks in a storm, and a plane explodes. A child is caught up in a violent marital fight. These scenes are more disturbing than frightening.

Drugs and alcoholPervasive, made attractive

Cocaine, crack, quaaludes and many other drugs are consumed constantly and described with relish by the narrator. The film shows overdose, a car crash, near-death and rehab, but much of the drug use is played as exhilarating comedy.

AttitudesGreed as the outlook

Fraud, bribery, money laundering, contempt for clients and the poor, and mockery of people with dwarfism and disabilities make up the characters' world, and the charismatic narrator presents it gleefully. The film intends satire, but the consequences are light.

OccultNone

There is no witchcraft, magic, fortune-telling, séances or other occult content. Religion appears only as a cynical aside.

  • To know
  • Discuss
  1. 0:02

    Sexual content and drugs

    Jordan's opening narration boasts about a sex act in his car, weekly use of prostitutes and a daily diet of drugs. It sets the tone for the whole film.

  2. 0:42

    Suicide reference

    Narration describes sex in the office, including a group encounter, then mentions in passing that a broker later took his own life. A party to toss people with dwarfism is then planned in demeaning terms.

  3. 0:58

    Explicit sex

    Jordan's first sexual encounter with Naomi while he is still married to Teresa. It is explicit, and his wife confronts him soon after.

  4. 1:07

    Nudity and orgy

    The bachelor party flight to Las Vegas is shown as an orgy with prostitutes and drugs, with extensive nudity.

  5. 1:35

    Worth discussing

    On his yacht, Jordan tries to bribe an FBI agent without saying so outright. The agent replies that Jordan chose this path by himself.

  6. 1:59

    Overdose

    An extended overdose sequence in which Jordan crawls, drives while badly impaired and wrecks his car. Donnie then chokes and nearly dies at home. It is played largely for comedy.

  7. 2:38

    Domestic violence

    Naomi ends the marriage after a final explicit sex scene. Jordan becomes violent, strikes her and drives off with their young daughter, then crashes. The child is shown distressed.

Faith & story

What does it say?

What's it about?The plot, without the ending

In late-1980s New York, Jordan Belfort, an ambitious young stockbroker, loses his first job in a market crash. He reinvents himself selling worthless penny stocks from a strip-mall office on Long Island. With his new partner Donnie and a crew of old friends, he builds the firm Stratton Oakmont on high-pressure sales and market manipulation. The money, drugs and parties grow ever more extreme, and Jordan's marriage, friendships and freedom come under strain as federal investigators start to close in. Martin Scorsese directs it as a three-hour black comedy, with Jordan narrating his own rise.

Through a faith lensHow it connects to the Bible

The film is a portrait of a man who worships money and pleasure, and it shows, perhaps more than it means to, how hollow that worship is. Jordan tells us that money makes you a better person and that there is no nobility in poverty. Scripture says the opposite: life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions, and those who are eager to be rich fall into temptation and many foolish desires. His father's warning that the chickens will come home to roost echoes the biblical principle that we reap what we sow. We see that harvest in broken marriages, a frightened child and ruined friendships. Yet the film never offers repentance: Jordan's appetite for deceiving others, and the crowd's appetite for easy riches, outlast everything. That is the film's sharpest point and its greatest risk. It invites viewers to enjoy the excess, and many do, so the very appetite it critiques is fed along the way. Christian viewers will want to ask whether they are watching a warning or being entertained by the thing being warned against. Scripture's alternative to Jordan's empty abundance is contentment, honest work and a treasure that cannot be stolen.

See also
Fruit of the SpiritWhich fruit does it show?

0 out of 9 fruits ripe in this film

Ripe grapes are shown in the film, buds are missing

  • Joy
  • Peace
  • Patience
  • Goodness
  • Faithfulness
  • Gentleness
Works of the flesh shown

Read against Galatians 5:19-21, the film is a catalogue of the works of the flesh. It shows serial adultery and prostitution, orgies marked by impurity and sensuality, constant intoxication, rage, rivalry and greed that treats clients as prey. Money becomes an idol, an object of worship for Jordan and his firm, who chant and cheer for it. Kindness appears only as performance: Jordan tells the story of helping a single mother to rouse loyalty, and he loves his friends only until they become useful to betray. A few voices point the other way. His father keeps urging restraint, the FBI agent shows quiet integrity, and Naomi comes to refuse being used. Self-control is the virtue most conspicuously absent, and its absence drives every disaster in the story.

The charactersExamples to follow or avoid
  • Leonardo DiCaprio
    Jordan Belfort
    Leonardo DiCaprio

    A charismatic stockbroker and the narrator, who builds a fraudulent empire on greed, drugs and sex. He is magnetic and wholly self-serving, and he never truly repents.

  • Jonah Hill
    Donnie Azoff
    Jonah Hill

    Jordan's reckless partner. Crude, impulsive and loyal in his own way.

  • Margot Robbie
    Naomi
    Margot Robbie

    Jordan's second wife. She is drawn in by the wealth, then worn down by his cheating and abuse.

  • Kyle Chandler
    Agent Patrick Denham
    Kyle Chandler

    A modestly paid FBI agent who refuses Jordan's bribe and pursues him patiently. He is the film's clearest picture of integrity.

  • Rob Reiner
    Max Belfort
    Rob Reiner

    Jordan's hot-tempered father and the firm's accountant. He repeatedly warns his son that consequences will come, though he is drawn into the culture himself.

How Christians are portrayed

No Christian characters appear. Faith is mentioned only cynically, for example giving to the church as one more thing money can buy. Nuns and other religious figures are the butt of crude jokes.

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Details

Film details

In theatres
Dec 25, 2013
On streaming
Mar 25, 2014
Cast
Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey
Director
Martin Scorsese
Studios
Red Granite Pictures, Appian Way, Sikelia Productions
Genre
Crime, Drama, Comedy
Run time
3h
Age rating
US R · UK 18

How we analysed this

We counted language, blasphemy and other content in the film's dialogue and read it with the plot and film details, then rated each content area against our rubric and worldview scale, using AI models calibrated on reference titles. Not yet reviewed by our team. Confidence: high.

Score = 100 − 16 × content concern (4.70) + 8 × worldview (−1) = 17

This is a guide to help families choose with wisdom, not a verdict on anyone's conscience ().

Updated 2026-10-14

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