Script Analysis: “The Wolf of Wall Street” — Scene By Scene Breakdown

Here is my take on this exercise from a previous series of posts — How To Read A Screenplay:

After a first pass, it’s time to crack open the script for a deeper analysis and you can do that by creating a scene-by-scene breakdown. It is precisely what it sounds like: A list of all the scenes in the script accompanied by a brief description of the events that transpire.

For purposes of this exercise, I have a slightly different take on scene. Here I am looking not just for individual scenes per se, but a scene or set of scenes that comprise one event or a continuous piece of action. Admittedly this is subjective and there is no right or wrong, the point is simply to break down the script into a series of parts which you then can use dig into the script’s structure and themes.

The value of this exercise:

• We pare down the story to its most constituent parts: Scenes.
• By doing this, we consciously explore the structure of the narrative.
• A scene-by-scene breakdown creates a foundation for even deeper analysis of the story.

Today: The Wolf of Wall Street (2019). You may download a PDF of the script here.

Screenplay by Terence Winter, book by Jordan Belfort.

IMDb plot summary: Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.

The Wolf of Wall Street
Scene by Scene Breakdown
By Paul Graunke
GoIntoTheStory.com

Pages 1–5: The story opens with an ad portraying a sober, mature, staid prudent stock trading firm. Cut to Jordan leading a riotous morale building session that involves throwing a dwarf at a target. Follow up with a V.O. montage of his drug-fueled, reckless, and obscene rich lifestyle.

Pages 6–11: Flash back to the beginning: Jordan’s first day working on Wall Street. He’s ambitious but relatively naïve. A cocaine-fueled broker, Mark Hanna, expounds to the Wall Street novitiate a cynical, ruthless, f**ck-the-client ethos. For six months, Jordan gets initiated into the ways of Wall Street, passes the Series 7 exam to become a licensed stock broker — just in time to become unemployed when the flash crash of October 1987 wipes out the stock firm where he works.

Pages 12–13: Jordan answers an ad for a sleazy, storefront operation selling penny stocks.

Pages 14–15: Jordan is a natural born salesman, quickly becomes the best huckster, er broker, the one everyone wants to mimic.

Pages 16–17: Impressed by his car and paycheck, Donnie Azoff, quits his job and goes to work for Jordan. He’s also a drug fiend, introduces Jordan to crack.

Pages 18–19: Jordan stars his own firm, recruits his own crew.

Pages 20–28: A minor league player with major league ambitions, Jordan morphs his firm into a classier operation, Stratton Oakmont, movies into a classier digs. Stratton Oakmont becomes hugely, insanely lucrative.

Pages 28–30: Jordan becomes so successful, he’s interviewed for a cover story in Forbes. Which turns out to be a hatchet job; the story gives him the sobriquet “The Wolf of Wall Street”. But, as his wife points out, there’s no such thing as bad publicity: wanna-be brokers mob him for a job at his firm. The Forbes article also brings Jordan to the attention of the FBI in the person of agent Patrick Denham.

Pages 30–39: Meanwhile, the firm revels, wallows in more insane success. To bring some sanity and order to the firm, Jordan hires his dad, Max, to be chief financial officer. Two Pages of absurd discussion over dwarfs is interrupted by the arrival of his father who is outraged at the wanton “business expenses” for entertainment. Max warns him that “one of these days the chickens will come home to roost.”

Pages 40–44 : During a party at his South Hampton beach house, Jordan’s story pivots in 3 fateful ways: 1] Jordan announces his plan to up Stratton Oakmont’s game by doing IPO’s, initial public stock offerings; 2] Donnie introduces Quaaludes into Jordan’s already extensive pharmacopeia; and 3] Jordan meets the super-glamorous Naomi. It’s lust at first sight.

Pages 40–48: Jordan’s besotted affair with Naomi ends his marriage to his first wife, Teresa.

Pages 49–51: After Naomi moves into Jordan’s apartment, he has to deal with a scandal when they return unexpectedly from a trip to discover the seemingly staid butler throwing an orgy for his gay friends. And someone has stolen $50 thousand in cash and jewelry.

Pages 52–54: Jordan uses Brad, and other ‘ratholes’, to hide money and illegal transactions. The SEC sniffs around the books, but can’t find any actionable evidence to prosecute. Jordan continues to make more money than he knows how to spend or hide from the government.

Pages 54–57: Jordan gives Naomi an enormous engagement ring, and after an orgiastic bachelor party in Vegas, the couple marries. Naomi makes a fateful introduction to Jordan, Aunt Emma, her British aunt. Jordan presents her with her wedding present, a 150 foot yacht. After a 3 week cruise in the Caribbean, they settle into a luxurious estate. Heaven on earth.

Pages 58–63: Until it isn’t. Eighteen months later, they are fighting over his chronic, compulsive infidelities and reckless drug-induced behavior. He tries, in vain, to make up to her.

Pages 64–70: The day of the firm’s biggest IPO for Steve Madden’s shoe company. After an awkward introduction of Madden to the troops, Jordan sends them to the phones with a rousing pep talk.

Pages 71–72: Bad news arrives as Jordan and Donnie celebrate the success of the IPO with champagne and ludes: the FBI wants a copy of the wedding video.

Pages 73–79: Jordan invites FBI agent Denham and his partner to talk on his yacht, makes a barely subtle attempt to buy him off. But Denham is immune to Jordan’s charm and cash; his integrity is not for sale.

Pages 79–81: Realizing he can’t shake off Denham, Jordan makes plans to hide his money in Switzerland. He flies to Zurich while flying high under the influence of ludes.

Pages 82–85: Jordan meets with the Swiss banker Saurel who explains that to avoid the long arm of the American government, he needs launder the money through an account — a foreign rathole — under someone else’s name.

Pages 85–88: In London, Jordan recruits Aunt Emma to manage the Zurich rathole and addled by drugs tries to seduce her. She’s wise enough to launder the money and wise enough to not succumb to his charms.

Pages 88–91: But the problem is there is more cash to move overseas than be taped to any one body. They need lots of bodies. Brad recruits his wife and her extensive family. In the process of figuring out how to move the money, animosity builds between Donnie and Brad.

Pages 92–93: The animosity between Donnie and Brad climaxes in an altercation in a strip mall that catches the attention of the cops. Brad is busted with a suitcase of cash.

Pages 94–95: In desperation, Donnie distracts Jordan with his cache of the most potent ludes before breaking the bad news about Brad.

Pages 95–96: They pop the ludes — but the high doesn’t kick in. They pop some more, exercise to ramp up their metabolism, get the ludes to kick in.

Pages 96–100: Jordan’s lawyer calls, frantic but afraid to talk on Jordan’s home phone for fear it’s bugged. Jordan drives to a local country club to use the pay phone. Where, as he receives the bad news about Brad’s arrest, the ludes kick in. He literally crawls his way back to his car and miraculously seems to get back home without a mishap.

Pages 100–103: Jordan frantically stops an equally stoned out Donnie from calling Zurich on a home phone about the money. Donnie shoves food down his throat in order to sober up — and chokes as Jordan takes consolation with cocaine. Jordan finally comes to his rescue and must perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to save Donnie.

Pages 103–104: Come to find out the morning after, Jordan totally wrecked the car while driving home. But since there’s no witness to prove he was driving, he’s not arrested. But Brad serves a few months for contempt for refusing to testify before finally getting out. His luck seems to be holding.

Pages 104–105: Jordan’s financial lawyer advises him to cut a deal with the SEC before his luck runs out. Which will require him to surrender control of Stratton Oakmont.

Pages 105–108: Jordan announces his retirement to his troops — and then defiantly changes his mind. FBI agent Denham relishes the opportunity to take Jordan down. Brad is welcomed back with (another) wild party.

Pages 109–110: The subpoenas drop, the SEC investigates, but Jordan’s entourage loyally refuse to rat. Jordan and Donnie are instructed not to leave the country — which is exactly what they do, to Italy.

Pages 110–112: The caca keeps hitting the fan: Steve Madden dumps his stock and Aunt Emma dies. Jordan has three business days to get to Geneva to forge a document in Aunt Emma’s name transferring the Swiss rathole account to him.

Pages 113–117: Jordan orders the boat captain to steer for Monaco despite a stormy weather forecast. The yacht sinks in a “perfect storm”, but the passengers manage to be rescued.

Page 117–121: Two years later, Jordan is arrested by FBI agent Denham while filming an infomercial for his newest business venture, financial seminars. He’s been ratted out by his ex-partner Rugrat and his ex-banker Saurel after they get busted for another money laundering scheme. He’s indicted for money laundering, securities fraud and a long list of other charges.

Pages 122–126: Donnie consoles Jordan as he faces long jail time and financial ruin. But Jordan learns he can get a reduced sentence if he agrees to wear a wire. Which he agrees to do.

Pages 126–130: It’s too late to salvage his marriage. Naomi informs him she is filing for divorce and custody of the kids.

Pages 131–133: Jordan meets Donnie, passes him a note warning him he’s wired — don’t say anything incriminating. Only to find out later that Donnie has passed the paper to the FBI — ratted on his partner. Denham arrests Jordan again.

Pages 134–135: Jordan is sentenced to four years — in a comfy prison for white collar criminals.

Pages 135–137: Years later, after he’s released, he’s back on his feet, raking in the dough as a motivational speaker.

Writing Exercise: I encourage you to read the script, but short of that, if you’ve seen the movie, go through this scene-by-scene breakdown. What stands out to you about it from a structural standpoint?

To download a PDF of the breakdown, go here.

Kudos to Paul Graunke for doing the breakdown.

To see 100+ screenplay scene-by-scene breakdowns, go here.