The Wolf of Wall Street’s scene is more iconic for the dialogue and less physically violent nature, but Goodfellas’ was more significant as it was in Karen’s point of view and gave her more power when explaining why she stayed with Henry for so long.
One of Scorsese's faults with Wolf of Wall Street was not giving more agency in the story and point-of-view to Naomi and the women like he did for Karen and the wives in Goodfellas, considering they play similar roles in dealing with the repercussions of their husband’s crimes. It’s no wonder Scorsese found a way to make a direct connection between the inner life of Hill and Belfort, namely their infidelity and the short-lived complacency of their wives, and mirror them stylistically The men even escape severe jail time for their crimes as they betray their friends and give up the names of their associates in testimonies.
Both films deal with men who came into their wealthy crime-ridden lives as they were corrupted by more senior members of their respective factions and end up losing more than just themselves along the way. The Wolf of Wall Street is essentially Scorsese’s modern follow-up to Goodfellas the style and fast-paced nature of the first half being a “cocaine high” and the latter part being the crash after the high is extremely similar.
