Analysis of a Film

Martin Scorsese is a 50-year-old American film director, producer, film historian, and screenwriter who was born on November 17th, 1942. The majority of his directed and produced films deal with topics such as Roman Catholicism, faith, modern criminality, gang conflict, and Sicilian-American identity, among others. Furthermore, many of his films are notable for their extensive use of language and violence deceptively. Primarily, he is regarded as one of cinema’s most important and prominent filmmakers. Over the years, he has established various organizations dedicated to the promotion and preservation of films, including the World Cinema Foundation in 2007 and the Film Foundation in 1990.He has several awards including the AFL Life Achievement Award for his work and contribution the cinema world. Other awards he has won over the years include a Palme d’Or, Academy Award, Cannes Film Festival Best Director, Grammy Award, DGA Award, and Emmys among others. Martin Scorsese over the years has directed some of the most iconic movies including The Wolf of Wall Street, Goodfellas, and Shutter Island.

The Wolf of Wall Street is one of the greatest movies of the 21st century, and Martin Scorsese directed it. The film indicates several themes including a significant amount of power results to corruption and money from illegal activities and methods results in severe consequences (Slocum). In the movie, Jordan Belfort started as an individual working for a small brokerage firm on the wall street. Moreover, once the organization goes bankrupt, he starts a small company that sells minor stocks. When he gains an understanding of how the system works his agency begins to make a considerable sum of money, but he wanted more. The money changes Jordan from a calm businessman t a lust craving individual and a drug addict. “So immodest, so incredibly sexy” the words ate said to a prostitute which Jordan engages with. Such scenes in the movie reflect how people behave like when they become rich.

The lifestyle of Jordan is illegal from the use of drugs, expensive foreign prostitutes, money laundering, and security fraud. The money he earned from such unlawful activities resulted in him becoming a federal convict. Further, he was subjected to a 3 million dollar fine and life behind bars. Such are activities that are happening in the society with things such as prostitution, money laundering, and drug abuse (Slocum). The movie relays the message that income from illegal activities usually results in negative consequences. From the movie Jordan is subject to life behind the bar and a fine because of his illicit activities such as money laundering and violation of the securities laws. This also results to him being banned from taking part in the stock business as he was involved in illegal activities.

Goodfellas remains as one of last genuinely great mobster movies of the 21st century as it understands the horrifying realities and the dark apple of the lie of organized crime. The movie Goodfellas the themes of violence, loyalty, and drug addiction that perfectly go in line with the message of the film (Sims). Violence id closely related with the lifestyles the is experienced by the chief characters in the movie despite a high number of death among characters. Moreover, none of the violence in the film is gratuitous. Furthermore, the film represents several crimes. For instance, Tommy exhibits psychotic disorder which is fueled by enjoyment and rage. This kind of violence which is unnecessary results in him losing his life. On the other hand, Jimmy and Henry indicate a work-related violence at the kill for pragmatic reasons and to eliminate the witnesses to make sure that their illegal dealings still go on. The violence in the movie can be said not to be glamorized nu it is presented thematically as a way on which gangsters lived and normalized their way of life.

The movie is based on organized crimes which are commonly referred to as mafia’s, and the most critical aspect is loyalty. For instance, Henry is rewarded for his silence and dedication to the group with the trust of Lucchese and more opportunities. Drug addiction is another issue that the movie brings to light (Sims). For instance, Henry was a successful gangster until he decided to do drugs. During his prime time, he was able to do drug trafficking, but upon becoming addicted, he started burning bridges and doing bad business. This indicates the problem that is associated with drug addiction. People can be fruitful in their activities, but when he engaged in drugs, their success starts going down. Following the movie, it is evident that progress of Henry in crime was brought down by drug addiction. Further, linking the kind of psychopathic brutality and the romantic mythos of the American gangster and the actions of Henry in the movie show a clear understanding of the activities of the things that were taking place during the time of shooting the movie. During this period is when the use of the drug was taking root in the United States of America.

Shutter Island with the opening scene of the movie begins the analysis. The film starts with Teddy getting sick in the company of his friend Chuck (Ansari). The metaphor in the scene is that Teddy is getting ill and at the moment he is shifting seas aboard looking for the vessel of truth to cut through the fog for his mind to give him the reality of the things taking place in his life. The movie shows some of the dark and prohibited test that the government has been doing on people risking their lives. The Lighthouse in the film represent the bases that are used to do test on people (Ansari). The fire in the lighthouse is a simple of chuck and teddy insanity. Watching the movie carefully, the fire inward C matches the fire in the cave. Primarily, guilt and hurt are the leading causes why Andrew invented the secondary persona with one side being a hero and a Marshal known as Teddy Daniels.

To sum up, Martin Scorsese remains one of the most important and influential people in the movie industry of the twenty-first century. His works have laid the road for the success of other movies produced later. Most of his directed and produced movies address themes such as Roman Catholic concepts, faith, modern crime, gang conflict, and Sicilian-American identity among others. The films such as The Wolf of Wall Street and Goodfellas have become iconic enduring much success following their production. How Martin Scorsese tells the story remains iconic as the image matches with the message passed along.

Work cited

Ansari, Shariq. “’Shutter Island,’ The Complicated Thriller, Fully Explained.” The Cinemaholic, 2017, https://www.thecinemaholic.com/shutter-island-explained-the-battle-of-fire-and-water/.

Sims, David. ”’Goodfellas’ Is Still the Most Realistic Mobster Movie Ever Made.” The Atlantic, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/09/was-goodfellas-the-last-truly-great-mobster-film/406228/.

Slocum, David. ”Here’s What ’The Wolf of Wall Street’ Teaches Us About Corporate Storytelling.” Forbes.Com, 2014, https://www.forbes.com/sites/berlinschoolofcreativeleadership/2014/04/09/heres-what-the-wolf-of-wall-street-teaches-us-about-corporate-story-telling/#3e460e2a2649.