Fifth time is not the charm for this famous 20th century novel which I will quickly admit to being one of my favorite books. I read it in high school as most teenagers in the Eighties had to and I’ve even taken the time to re-read it as an adult voluntarily. When I read about Luhrman attempting to make this into a film, I was apprehensive because he’s Australian and his Romeo + Juliet had mixed results. Gatsby being pushed back from Christmas 2012 to Summer 2013 should’ve been a warning sign. The Hip Hop music in the trailer certainly annoyed me; this will just attract White, suburban kids who don’t want to read the book for English class.
Everybody practically knows the whole plot so I’ll skip that. Luhrman did change it up by starting movie with Nick recuperating in a sanatorium (rehab in 1929) and his recovery becomes telling the story of the infamous Summer he met Jay Gatsby. A bit much yet it doesn’t matter, Fitzgerald did frame his novel as a flashback from Nick’s perspective.
I’ve never seen the first, second nor fourth version of Gatsby. I do have number four on DVD starring Mira Sorvino as Daisy and Paul Rudd as Nick (it was made for A&E not theatrically released), I haven’t gotten around to it. I have seen the most common version from the Seventies starring Robert Redford (Gatsby), Mia Farrow (Daisy), Bruce Dern (Tom) and Sam Watterston (Nick). You can currently catch it on Netflix streaming. I’ll warn you now, it’s rather disappointing.
However, what about this take? Luhrman’s is slightly better but not by much. Joel Edgerton was spot on as Tom, a bully with the physique of an aging ex-jock. He has come a long way since being a rather stiff Owen Lars in the horrific Star Wars prequels. Tobey Maguire is a convincing Nick, then again being world-weary is something Tobey excels at. DiCaprio’s performance was surprisingly stiff and robotic. I found this puzzling. He did great in Django Unchained. Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan was another nice touch due to her height being significantly greater than Nick’s; if you’ve forgotten, Jordan was a professional golfer and athletes of both genders tend to be taller than average. Carey Mulligan’s Daisy is better than Mia Farrow.
Beyond the casting, Luhrman’s use of color and space is unusual. With the former, there’s tones and shades that didn’t likely exist in the Twenties. With the latter, you can tell CG or green screen technologies were used; in another review I read Gatsby was shot at Fox’s Sydney studios, home of the Star Wars prequels. It doesn’t detract from the story, it just doesn’t make it better.
Other than employing flavor-of-the-month music, my biggest criticism is the scene when Myrtle Wilson is hit by Gatsby’s car. Luhrman bludgeons the audience over the head with the symbolism. I won’t spoil it. You have to see it for yourself. Try not to sprain your eyes as they roll in exasperation. I’ve never bought into the interpretation Luhrman chose neither. Fitzgerald wasn’t a deep writer, he only had one or two good novels in him and Gatsby is really more about the zeitgeist of the time. Like Generation X or Easy Rider were just snapshots of their day.
Alamo Drafthouse did a good job warming up the crowd. They mostly showed clips from flicks made in the early Thirties which bore some resemblance to Twenties’ fashions.
The Great Gatsby: Rental at best
Fifth time is not the charm for this famous 20th century novel which I will quickly admit to being one of my favorite books. I read it in high school as most teenagers in the Eighties had to and I’ve even taken the time to re-read it as an adult voluntarily. When I read about Luhrman attempting to make this into a film, I was apprehensive because he’s Australian and his Romeo + Juliet had mixed results. Gatsby being pushed back from Christmas 2012 to Summer 2013 should’ve been a warning sign. The Hip Hop music in the trailer certainly annoyed me; this will just attract White, suburban kids who don’t want to read the book for English class.
Everybody practically knows the whole plot so I’ll skip that. Luhrman did change it up by starting movie with Nick recuperating in a sanatorium (rehab in 1929) and his recovery becomes telling the story of the infamous Summer he met Jay Gatsby. A bit much yet it doesn’t matter, Fitzgerald did frame his novel as a flashback from Nick’s perspective.
I’ve never seen the first, second nor fourth version of Gatsby. I do have number four on DVD starring Mira Sorvino as Daisy and Paul Rudd as Nick (it was made for A&E not theatrically released), I haven’t gotten around to it. I have seen the most common version from the Seventies starring Robert Redford (Gatsby), Mia Farrow (Daisy), Bruce Dern (Tom) and Sam Watterston (Nick). You can currently catch it on Netflix streaming. I’ll warn you now, it’s rather disappointing.
However, what about this take? Luhrman’s is slightly better but not by much. Joel Edgerton was spot on as Tom, a bully with the physique of an aging ex-jock. He has come a long way since being a rather stiff Owen Lars in the horrific Star Wars prequels. Tobey Maguire is a convincing Nick, then again being world-weary is something Tobey excels at. DiCaprio’s performance was surprisingly stiff and robotic. I found this puzzling. He did great in Django Unchained. Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan was another nice touch due to her height being significantly greater than Nick’s; if you’ve forgotten, Jordan was a professional golfer and athletes of both genders tend to be taller than average. Carey Mulligan’s Daisy is better than Mia Farrow.
Beyond the casting, Luhrman’s use of color and space is unusual. With the former, there’s tones and shades that didn’t likely exist in the Twenties. With the latter, you can tell CG or green screen technologies were used; in another review I read Gatsby was shot at Fox’s Sydney studios, home of the Star Wars prequels. It doesn’t detract from the story, it just doesn’t make it better.
Other than employing flavor-of-the-month music, my biggest criticism is the scene when Myrtle Wilson is hit by Gatsby’s car. Luhrman bludgeons the audience over the head with the symbolism. I won’t spoil it. You have to see it for yourself. Try not to sprain your eyes as they roll in exasperation. I’ve never bought into the interpretation Luhrman chose neither. Fitzgerald wasn’t a deep writer, he only had one or two good novels in him and Gatsby is really more about the zeitgeist of the time. Like Generation X or Easy Rider were just snapshots of their day.
Alamo Drafthouse did a good job warming up the crowd. They mostly showed clips from flicks made in the early Thirties which bore some resemblance to Twenties’ fashions.