

The Wolf of Wall Street
HeartGuard score
How suitable a title is for Christian viewers, from 0 to 100. It weighs the content meters and the worldview.
- 80–100Recommended
- 60–79Watch with care
- 35–59Think it through
- 15–34Strong cautionThis film
- 0–14Not recommended
HeartGuard score
How suitable a title is for Christian viewers, from 0 to 100. It weighs the content meters and the worldview.
- 80–100Recommended
- 60–79Watch with care
- 35–59Think it through
- 15–34Strong cautionThis film
- 0–14Not recommended
Worldview score
What the story celebrates or condemns.
Why −1 for this film
The film shows greed, addiction and adultery wrecking lives and shows the consequences of such a lifestyle. However, it tells the story through a seductive narrator, makes the excess look attractive, and leaves its hero largely unrepentant, leaving its moral judgement ambivalent.
- +2Affirms faithPresents faith in God positively and as true
- +1Positive valuesHonesty, sacrifice and family win out
- 0Mixed or neutralNo clear stance
- −1AmbivalentThis filmShows sin without judging it either way
- −2Glamorises sinMakes sin look attractive and rewarding
Age guide
How suitable this film is for each age group.
Why 18+ for this film
Explicit sex scenes with full nudity, hundreds of f-words, constant misuse of God's name and pervasive drug use are the main reasons. Domestic violence also adds to the intensity.
- Under 8No
- Ages 8–12No
- Ages 13–15No
- Ages 16–17No
- AdultsCheck first
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 knowContent to know about
- DiscussWorth discussing
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1:07
Nudity and orgy
The bachelor party flight to Las Vegas is shown as an orgy with prostitutes and drugs, with extensive nudity.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
How to play
- 1. Draw a cardOne person reads the question out loud.
- 2. Everyone answersThere are no wrong answers. Listen before you reply.
- 3. Pass it onThe next person draws, until the deck is done.
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.
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
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
Jordan BelfortLeonardo DiCaprioA 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.
Donnie AzoffJonah HillJordan's reckless partner. Crude, impulsive and loyal in his own way.
NaomiMargot RobbieJordan's second wife. She is drawn in by the wealth, then worn down by his cheating and abuse.
Agent Patrick DenhamKyle ChandlerA modestly paid FBI agent who refuses Jordan's bribe and pursues him patiently. He is the film's clearest picture of integrity.
Max BelfortRob ReinerJordan'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.
Community
What other Christians think
What did you notice?
A sex scene, shown or clearly implied?
Is this appropriate for Christians to watch?
Thinking of children? Add the youngest age you'd show it to.
Review
Helpful reviewer
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Given to members whose reviews 25 or more people have marked Helpful.
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Alternatives
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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













