Rated
PG-13 (Some Violent Images, Sexual Content, Smoking, Partying and Brief Language)
Running
Time: 2 Hours & 22 Minutes
Cast-
Leonardo
DiCaprio-Jay Gatsby
Tobey
Maguire-Nick Carraway
Carey
Mulligan-Daisy Buchanan
Joel
Edgerton-Tom Buchanan
Elizabeth
Debicki-Jordan Baker
Isla
Fisher-Myrtle Wilson
Jason
Clarke-George Wilson
Amitabh
Bachchan-Meyer Wolfsheim
Adelaide
Clemens-Catherine
Jack
Thompson-Dr. Walter Perkins
Directed
by Baz Luhrmann
 |
| Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan star in Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby," the fourth adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's eponymous novel. |
Note: At AMC Empire 25.
I
was a voracious reader during my elementary and middle school years. Since I didn't
have much to do at home, I needed an activity that would help pass the time but
once I got to high school, I began reading less and less. When you're inundated
with homework that's due the very next day, reading for pleasure just didn't
seem all that productive, especially when you also had assigned books to read. I
often found those books to be rather 'boring' to my easily-distracted teenage
mind and a common sight was me falling asleep in English class. Thankfully, age
has granted me the hindsight to truly appreciate the works of literature that my
instructors assigned me to read and among these works was none other than F.
Scott Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The Great
Gatsby.
Written
over a three-month period and published in 1925, The Great Gatsby was only a mere 176 pages but the words within held
enormous power. Capturing the zeitgeist of the Roaring Twenties, Fitzgerald's
novel told of the doomed love affair between the mysterious Jay Gatsby and wealthy
debutante Daisy Buchanan yet this wasn't a simple romance tale; it was an indictment
of the American Dream and how it had been corrupted by easy money and material
excess. Unfortunately, the reviews at the time were very mixed and Fitzgerald sadly
passed away in 1940 (at only age 44) under the belief that he was a failure.
Nowadays, The Great Gatsby is widely
regarded as a literary classic and is commonly referred to as the 'Great American
Novel.' With over 25 million copies sold worldwide, it's no surprise that
Hollywood wanted to make a film adaptation. The most famous version is the one
released in 1974 starring Robert Redford as the titular Gatsby and Mia Farrow as
Daisy Buchanan. Directed by Jack Clayton with a script from Francis Ford Coppola,
the film failed to impress critics, with many viewing it as dull and lifeless. Roger
Ebert wrote in his review that it was 'faithful to the novel with a vengeance [but]
not to the feel, mood, and spirit of it.' Now we have another adaptation (the
fourth), courtesy of Australian director Baz Luhrmann. A visual feast for the
eyes, Luhrmann's "Great Gatsby" remains faithful to its revered
source material but like the 1974 version before it, he fails to capture the spirit
of Fitzgerald's work and instead turns it into a melodramatic, overblown soap opera.
Hoping
to make it big as a bond salesman in Wall Street, Midwesterner Nick Carraway
(Tobey Maguire) relocates to the (fictional) village of West Egg in Long Island,
New York during the summer of 1922, where he rents a small cottage next to the lavish
mansion owned by the enigmatic Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). Rumors abound about
Gatsby's past and where his fortune came from but one thing's for sure: the man
knows how to throw a party. After spending a drunken night with his college acquaintance
Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton), Nick arrives home to find a personal invite to
one of Gatsby's parties, having been the only one to ever receive a direct
invitation as all the other guests simply just show up and indulge themselves.
At the party, Nick tries to find Gatsby but discovers to his surprise that no
one has ever met him. He encounters Jordan Baker (Elizabeth Debicki), an amateur
golfer and friend of his cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan), who happens to be Tom's
wife. They finally manage to meet their host after much trouble, with the
mysterious millionaire taking an immediate liking to Nick. Through Jordan, Nick
learns that Gatsby was once romantically involved with Daisy five years ago when
he was serving in the military during World War I. Still madly in love with
her, Gatsby wants Nick to arrange a meeting between him and Daisy. Nick agrees and
invites his cousin to tea at his house without telling her that Gatsby will also
be there. Gatsby and Daisy initially share an awkward reunion but the two quickly
rekindle their romance and embark on a secret love affair. This arouses the suspicion
of Tom, who is also involved in an extramarital affair with Myrtle Wilson (Isla
Fisher), the wife of sickly gas station attendant George (Jason Clarke).
Fully
embracing his 'Go big or go home' mentality, Baz Luhrmann's "Great Gatsby"
is nothing short of visually spectacular. The decadent excess of the Jazz Age has
been amped up to infinity as millions of confetti bombards the screen during Gatsby's
extravagant parties while the guests cavort in an orgiastic celebration of
money and booze. It is in these moments that the film truly comes alive with
its frenzied editing, zooming camera, and anachronistic soundtrack (spearheaded
by Shawn 'Jay Z' Carter, who also serves as executive producer). By the time Gatsby
appears thirty minutes in, fireworks are exploding behind him while the climax
of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue
surges in the background. It's a magnificent entrance that really sticks with
you. Obviously, this gaudy, almost cartoon-like vision of 1920's New York is
not true-to-life but Luhrmann was never known for his subtlety. The word doesn't
even exist in his vocabulary. From top-to-bottom, the opulent production design
from Catherine Martin (also Luhrmann's wife) is an orgasm for the eyes, and
this is one film that truly benefits from 3D. You're not experiencing "The
Great Gatsby" as intended if you go see this in 2D since the extra effect adds
to the immersion factor with its kaleidoscopic glitz and glamour.
Unfortunately,
I can't lavish the same praise on the film's story. Told in a framed narrative
while Nick is in a mental institution, Luhrmann remains faithful to Fitzgerald's
work (sometimes a little too faithful),
with many passages taken verbatim from the novel. The problem is that he has failed
to translate the spirit of the source material to the big screen and not helping
is the uneven pacing, with the film lurching along in fits and spurts while being
overtaken in a tidal wave of overcooked emotions. The Great Gatsby was about the corruption of the American Dream and
the hollowness of the upper class. Throughout the novel, Gatsby is chasing an idealized
version of Daisy, showering her with love and affection when she is totally undeserving
of it, just like how the American people were no longer deserving of the American
Dream with the easy accessibility of money and their material excess. Luhrmann does
explore this but it comes across as a meaningless sentiment when he keeps playing
up the romance angle between Gatsby and Daisy. In his mind, Gatsby is nothing but
a pure-hearted victim whom Daisy loved unconditionally. It all feels like
"Romeo and Juliet 2" with the star-crossed lovers who are meant to be
together but are unable to due to their social upbringing. Dramatic moments,
such as when Tom confronts Gatsby over the source of his wealth at the Plaza
Hotel, are reduced to melodramatic soap opera. Some of the symbols from the
novel (the green light, the faded eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg) also feel
heavy-handed, with Luhrmann literally screaming at us to 'look, this is a
symbol!' There's no denying that "The Great Gatsby" is a visual
spectacle but its missing the heart of Fitzgerald's novel. In fact, he probably
would've been turned off by all this shiny pizzazz if he was still alive today.
Luhrmann
has certainly gathered an impressive cast yet their performances come across as
very one-note, with the exception of Leonardo DiCaprio. As the titular Jay
Gatsby, the actor is simply magnetic in the role, capturing not just the
character's unyielding optimism and mysterious charm but also his painful
longing. Carey Mulligan, however, feels like a damsel-in-distress caught
between two men as opposed to the shallow, self-absorbed debutante in the
novel. Tobey Maguire is fine but he's given very little to do besides observe,
with his narration often feeling intrusive and unnecessary. Joel Edgerton
reduces Tom Buchanan to growling, mustache-twirling villainy while Elizabeth Debicki's
Jordan Baker is pretty much a blank. Rounding out the cast is Isla Fisher and
Jason Clarke, who are basically non-entities despite their characters'
importance in the story.
Released
on May 10, 2013 (after being pushed back from its original December release
last year), "The Great Gatsby" has received mixed reviews with 50% on
Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that it was 'certainly ambitious—and every bit
as visually dazzling as one might expect [but Luhrmann] emphasizes visual
splendor at the expense of its source material's vibrant heart.' Warner
Brothers made a very wise choice in delaying its release for an extra five
months as the original date would've been too competitive. Marketing it as a
summer event picture resulted in a very impressive $50.1 million debut despite
heavy competition from Marvel's "Iron Man 3." With $278.8 million
worldwide, the film is already a resounding success, especially for a romantic
drama. Luhrmann's "Great Gatsby" is quite a sight to behold with its gorgeous
visuals but by focusing so much on how it looks, he completely misses the point
of Fitzgerald's novel. A more appropriate title for this film would be "The Mediocre
Gatsby."
Final
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
"Can't
repeat the past? No, why, of course you can...of course you can."
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