THE GREAT GATSBY

   

Rated PG-13 for some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying and brief language

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, and Joel Edgerton

Written By: Baz Luhrman and Craig Pearce (Based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Directed By: Baz Luhrman

RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT

Review By Andrew Shuster

Adapting to film what is considered by many to be the greatest American novel of all time is no easy task. The new version of The Great Gatsby is ambitious and immense in scope, but ultimately a mess. Along with many other literary classics, F. Scott Fitzgerald's epic take on 1920's America and forbidden romance, has been widely deemed "unfilmable". Perhaps because it is the eloquence and power of Fitzgerald's words, not so much his plot and characters that made his novel so great.

The film is visually stunning thanks to the direction and style of Baz Luhrman who also directed the ritzy Moulin Rogue. The parties that Gatsby throws at his Long Island mansion are wildly brought to life with top-notch production and costume design. They're so over the top and extravagant that it appears as though every penny of the films' $100 million budget is onscreen. It's during these party scenes that Luhrman makes the best use out of the 3D format. However, the look of the film is by far its best aspect.  This is a perfect example of style over substance.

The other best aspect of the movie is Leonardo DiCaprio's performance as Jay Gatsby. DiCaprio is one of the best actors of his generation and was probably the best choice to play the lonely and mysterious millionaire. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the rest of the cast. Tobey Maguire plays Nick Carraway, who's actually the real main character of the story as everything occurs from his point of view. He serves as the narrator and also has more screen-time than DiCaprio. But, Maguire doesn't show much emotion or excitement and just kind of mopes his way through the movie. The biggest flaw of all might be Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan. The entire concept revolves around the idea that Gatsby is hopelessly in love with Daisy, throwing his lavish parties with the hope that she might one day show up. There's nothing about Mulligan's performance to sell herself as so breathtaking that Gatsby wants to devote his life to her. Mulligan just comes off as a second-rate Michelle Williams. Joel Edgerton gives the only other good performance in the movie as Daisy's husband and Gatsby's rival Tom Buchanan. There's a fairly tense confrontation between Gatsby and Tom in a suite at the Plaza Hotel. It's well-acted, but also one of the films' few moments of tension.

Credit is due for integrating a modern hip-hop soundtrack into the setting, making for a more fun aspect than one would expect from such dense source material. The set design and visual effects used to create New York City in the 20's are so outlandish that the addition of rap music serves to elevate the surrealistic feel. Nothing looks like anything in real life as most of the film was shot on green screen and it feels as if we're in an alternate universe of 1920's NYC where Jay-Z existed.

Students studying the novel in class can put down their SparkNotes and just see this movie, as the themes and motifs inferred by Fitzgerald but left open to interpretation are clearly explained, then hammered over the audiences head. The two most famous symbols in the book are the green light at the end of Daisy's dock and an old advertising billboard displaying bespectacled eyes. That green light is so mystical and has so many different meanings but only one is ever brought up in the film. It turns out that all those hours spent in English class discussing and analyzing these images were not necessary. According to the filmmakers there is a definitive answer to what each figure represents. 

The Great Gatsby is nice to look at but doesn't give you anything to care about. There are fleeting moments of interest sandwiched in between long stretches of boredom. A popping soundtrack and impressive visuals are all well and good, but they should add to a movie, not be the movie. It's a shame to see talented people waste their time when they could have been involved with better projects. It was probably a mistake for Warner Bros. to give them the "green-light".