Could the working relationship between Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio suggest an auteur tendency?
Speaker:
Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have been working in collaboration for 14 years and they have made a total of 6 movies together, including, Wolf of Wall Street, The Aviator and Shutter Island. These are the three films i will be looking at to help answer my question.
Martin Scorsese is known for his auteuristic tendencies to develop collaborations with method type actors, who are able to fully emerge themselves into roles, thus meaning they are able to successfully portray characters exactly the way that Scorsese wants them to be portrayed. Scorsese often developed characters that are obsessive or have some sort of physiological issue. This is made clear by his previous collaboration with Robert De Niro, "The Scorsese/De Niro partnership galvanized audiences with the physical and psychological transformations of movies like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull; it’s safe to say that Scorsese/DiCaprio movies, while usually in receipt of good critical notices, are not quite so well-regarded"(1). It is also evident throughout his films with DiCaprio. Scorsese's tendency to develop these types of relationships is the main reason as to why he developed a collaboration with DiCaprio, because "DiCaprio’s willingness to plug his movie-star wattage into that electricity and still cap the role with an unceremonious death explains why he’s made such an excellent match as a late-career collaborator for the legendary director some three decades his senior."(2) Therefore Leonardo DiCaprio is known as a method actor, much like Scorseses "his previous and similarly named muse, Robert De Niro."(3)
"The more you define who you are personally, the less you are able to submerge into characters you do, and people will think 'I don't buy that role.'"(4). Thus making the motive behind the Scorsese/Dicaprio collaboration clear.
However, I feel the answer to this question is very ambiguous, as it is unclear who possesses more auteur tendencies, Scorsese or DiCaprio, or if it is the collaboration itself that is auteuristic
rather than just one or the other? DiCaprio often takes his own films to directors whom he knows will be the very best at successfully creating characters and portraying the narrative, much like Scorsese only choses actors whom he knows he can trust to successfully portray his obsessive, psychotic characters. "I Vowed to myself that i was going to work with directors who were changing cinema, doing something important"(5) The fact that DiCaprio takes his films to directors that he knows will create the best character roles, suggests that he is auteuristic. For example it was Leonardo DiCaprio who took the idea for The Wolf of Wall Street to Martin Scorsese, as he knew, after working on previous films with him that contain a character consumed by obsession and psychotic, that Scorsese was the perfect director for developing the protagonist, Jordan, who is obsessed with drugs, money, and women/sex. Thus making him slightly psychotic.
I have chosen to look at The Wolf of Wall Street as my focus film because it is the latest film that DiCaprio and Scorsese have worked on together and it portrays a character taken over by obsession of money, sex and drugs. In this scene from The Wolf of Wall Street we see Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Jordon, illustrating his obsession for money by dedicating a ‘motivational speech’ to making money and what to do with it all.
Projector:
https://youtu.be/fpnhfq6Q2b0
Speaker:
The majority of shots that Jordan is portrayed in are close up shots, Scorsese may have done this to enable the audience to be able to see his facial expressions as he talks to passionately about money. Jordan's facial expressions throughout this scene emphasise the passion and obsession he feels for making money an owning expensive things. Moreover, the lack of non-diegetic sound in this scene means that the audience pays more attention Jordan's speech and everything he is saying within it. It is only when the speech ends that the use of non-diegetic music is re-incorporated. Furthermore, the way that Leonardo DiCaprio performs the speech helps to emphasise the idea of passion and obsession. DiCaprio over dramatically performed the speech rather than just 'delivering' it. He does this by shouting the majority of the monolog and performing bold over exaggerated movements, for example when he pretends to suck off the microphone. Jordan comes across as so passionate about what he is speaking about, his faces beings to go red and his veins become visible.
DiCaprio's character also demonstrates an obsession/addiction for drugs throughout the film. This obsession is clearly portrayed in this scene from the film, where Jordan is seen walking through his house listing all of the drugs that he takes and what for.
Projector:
https://youtu.be/-UTSqg4sqlU
drugs;
-quantatiy of drugs
-voice over shows obsession
-refer to goodfellas, also a voice over
-also introduces hi obsession with sex and woman "buys better pussy"
Notes
human condition
aspects of male obsession
dicaprio is encapsulating everything that he wants to tell in the narrative about that type of person
likes method actors
their collaboration is auteuristic
mentalistic
quotes:
has yet to attain the same mythic cachet in its time as Scorsese’s collaboration with his previous and similarly named muse, Robert De Niro. item11
Scorsese, in turn, makes DiCaprio movies a lot more fun than some of the serious-minded stuff he does with less talented directors. -item 11
"Became incredibly self indulgent, consumed a lot of drugs, was with a lot of women and became consumed by greed"- item6
Yet the DiCaprio/Scorsese relationship has become enormously productive for both artists, helping to define both of their careers for over a decade and, as such, becoming a vital part of Scorsese’s development as an artist.-item 11
they’re actually mutually beneficial: DiCaprio expands Scorsese’s palette, while Scorsese applies his personal signature to the kinds of big, serious, adult-minded movies DiCaprio actively pursues. -item 11
But it’s not always bad to see an actor sweat a little, and Scorsese has harnessed that striving quality in DiCaprio better than almost any other director and physicalized it, too. His transformations aren’t as impressive as the ol’ De Niro weight gain in Raging Bull, but Scorsese’s intensity has a way of fraying at DiCaprio’s default seriousness, rendering it both more vivid and more vulnerable.-item 11
being a project De Niro brought to his friend and collaborator during a particularly dark period in Scorsese’s life, just as DiCaprio has approached Scorsese in less tumultuous times.)- item 11
“The Wolf of Wall Street” marks the fifth collaboration between him and Scorsese, a partnership that began in 2002 on the period piece “Gangs of New York.” Since then, it has blossomed into one of Hollywood’s greatest actor-director relationships.- item 12
"The more you define who you are personally, the less you are able to submerge into characters you do, and people will think 'I don't buy that role.'"(4). Thus making the motive behind the Scorsese/Dicaprio collaboration clear.
However, I feel the answer to this question is very ambiguous, as it is unclear who possesses more auteur tendencies, Scorsese or DiCaprio, or if it is the collaboration itself that is auteuristic
rather than just one or the other? DiCaprio often takes his own films to directors whom he knows will be the very best at successfully creating characters and portraying the narrative, much like Scorsese only choses actors whom he knows he can trust to successfully portray his obsessive, psychotic characters. "I Vowed to myself that i was going to work with directors who were changing cinema, doing something important"(5) The fact that DiCaprio takes his films to directors that he knows will create the best character roles, suggests that he is auteuristic. For example it was Leonardo DiCaprio who took the idea for The Wolf of Wall Street to Martin Scorsese, as he knew, after working on previous films with him that contain a character consumed by obsession and psychotic, that Scorsese was the perfect director for developing the protagonist, Jordan, who is obsessed with drugs, money, and women/sex. Thus making him slightly psychotic.
I have chosen to look at The Wolf of Wall Street as my focus film because it is the latest film that DiCaprio and Scorsese have worked on together and it portrays a character taken over by obsession of money, sex and drugs. In this scene from The Wolf of Wall Street we see Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Jordon, illustrating his obsession for money by dedicating a ‘motivational speech’ to making money and what to do with it all.
Projector:
https://youtu.be/fpnhfq6Q2b0
Speaker:
The majority of shots that Jordan is portrayed in are close up shots, Scorsese may have done this to enable the audience to be able to see his facial expressions as he talks to passionately about money. Jordan's facial expressions throughout this scene emphasise the passion and obsession he feels for making money an owning expensive things. Moreover, the lack of non-diegetic sound in this scene means that the audience pays more attention Jordan's speech and everything he is saying within it. It is only when the speech ends that the use of non-diegetic music is re-incorporated. Furthermore, the way that Leonardo DiCaprio performs the speech helps to emphasise the idea of passion and obsession. DiCaprio over dramatically performed the speech rather than just 'delivering' it. He does this by shouting the majority of the monolog and performing bold over exaggerated movements, for example when he pretends to suck off the microphone. Jordan comes across as so passionate about what he is speaking about, his faces beings to go red and his veins become visible.
DiCaprio's character also demonstrates an obsession/addiction for drugs throughout the film. This obsession is clearly portrayed in this scene from the film, where Jordan is seen walking through his house listing all of the drugs that he takes and what for.
Projector:
https://youtu.be/-UTSqg4sqlU
drugs;
-quantatiy of drugs
-voice over shows obsession
-refer to goodfellas, also a voice over
-also introduces hi obsession with sex and woman "buys better pussy"
Notes
human condition
aspects of male obsession
dicaprio is encapsulating everything that he wants to tell in the narrative about that type of person
likes method actors
their collaboration is auteuristic
mentalistic
quotes:
has yet to attain the same mythic cachet in its time as Scorsese’s collaboration with his previous and similarly named muse, Robert De Niro. item11
Scorsese, in turn, makes DiCaprio movies a lot more fun than some of the serious-minded stuff he does with less talented directors. -item 11
"Became incredibly self indulgent, consumed a lot of drugs, was with a lot of women and became consumed by greed"- item6
Yet the DiCaprio/Scorsese relationship has become enormously productive for both artists, helping to define both of their careers for over a decade and, as such, becoming a vital part of Scorsese’s development as an artist.-item 11
they’re actually mutually beneficial: DiCaprio expands Scorsese’s palette, while Scorsese applies his personal signature to the kinds of big, serious, adult-minded movies DiCaprio actively pursues. -item 11
But it’s not always bad to see an actor sweat a little, and Scorsese has harnessed that striving quality in DiCaprio better than almost any other director and physicalized it, too. His transformations aren’t as impressive as the ol’ De Niro weight gain in Raging Bull, but Scorsese’s intensity has a way of fraying at DiCaprio’s default seriousness, rendering it both more vivid and more vulnerable.-item 11
being a project De Niro brought to his friend and collaborator during a particularly dark period in Scorsese’s life, just as DiCaprio has approached Scorsese in less tumultuous times.)- item 11
“The Wolf of Wall Street” marks the fifth collaboration between him and Scorsese, a partnership that began in 2002 on the period piece “Gangs of New York.” Since then, it has blossomed into one of Hollywood’s greatest actor-director relationships.- item 12
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