Directed By: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey MacGuire and Joel Edgerton
What It’s About: In the roaring ‘20s, a millionaire bachelor searches for his lost love, who turns out to be a married woman, with devastating consequences.
Rating PG-13 (for some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying and brief language)
Runtime: 142 minutes
By Shelby Clemons, Staff Writer
Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet) takes on the tough job of turning a super famous novel into an exciting, modern film and succeeds greatly, save for a few minor bumps. Although it’s a bit tacky and over-the-top at times, The Great Gatsby is as sparkly as its 1920s setting, and is a must-see.
The Great Gatsby is not a must-see in the sense that it’s going to win a ton of awards or is even that great a film, but high school students everywhere, literary aficionados and your average moviegoer have all been part of the huge hype surrounding the film. It’s worth seeing for the cast alone, who all fit their roles perfectly. It stays true to the general plot of the novel but fails to capture its morality, instead focusing too much on the love story and not enough on the decadence of the 1920s. But, still, it’s a pretty good love story.
Nick Carraway (Tobey MacGuire) narrates the film and reflects back on his time in Long Island in the early 1920s. His neighbor is the mysterious Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), a lavish party-thrower whose motives are as unclear as his origins until he forms a companionship with Nick. All the excessive Gatsby parties are thrown in hope of finding the one that got away, Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan). Upon discovering this, Nick agrees to reunite the two, only for dangerous consequences to come about as a result. There’s romance, infidelity, murder and plenty of partying.
The film captures the symbolism of the novel, but only on its surface. The green light Gatsby yearns for, the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg and the Valley of Ashes are all there, but lack the meaning they have in the novel. A love story sells better than a questioning of the “American Dream,” and Luhrmann does well selling it. The over-the-top filming fits the theme of the novel, but works far better in his film Moulin Rouge. The cinematography is dizzying, making everything and everyone look completely fake. It’s lackluster filming for such a big movie.
Overall, the cast was perfect for their roles. DiCaprio failed to impress as an actor, but worked as Gatsby. Mulligan is the real star as the star-crossed lover you can’t help but like. The rest of the cast fits perfectly into their characters. Another high note is the soundtrack, which is brilliant. At first, I thought the modern music in a period piece worked much better with Moulin Rouge, but it’s grown on me. Sure, sometimes Jay Z doesn’t work with people dancing the foxtrot, but the music is just so good that it doesn’t make too much of a difference.
Go see The Great Gatsby in all its glitter and glitz, and be sure to read the book if you haven’t. It’s not on its way to any Academy Awards, but it’s a film worth seeing, old sport.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaBVLhcHcc0
Courtesy of 4.bp.blogspot.com