FIlm Review - THE GREAT GATSBY ★★½☆☆☆

Adapting The Great Gatsby for the big screen is by no means a task to be taken lightly. Aussie director Baz Luhrmann, whose notable previous efforts include Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet, proves to be an interesting and wild card choice to take on F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic 1925 novel. This version will probably split the opinions of many moviegoers rather than win over the masses.

Luhrmann delivers a lively 3D spectacle that indeed, he has not take lightly by any stretch of the imagination and features a solid cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio as the enigmatic Jay Gatsby. The film is heavily armed with the expected kinetic extravagance and visual flair that should come from a fitting adaptation of the novel. The numerous lavish sweeping shots, vibrant grand party scenes and rich retro production design certainly pay proper homage to this tragic tale set in the Roaring Twenties.

Narrated from the perspective of Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), the film is a faithful version of the novel, chronicling the tragic relationship of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who throws massive parties on his Long Island estate, and his former sweetheart Daisy Buchanan, Carraway's cousin who lives across the bay that separates the East and West Eggs of the affluent area.

For all its glitz and glamour though, in this case the love story comes off as all the more downtrodden and tragic since for many of us, how it all ultimately ends up is of little surprise. As governed by the book, Gatsby tells a complicated tale that is not a straightforward sweeping romance, and the title character has a healthy case of obvious creepy obsession over an opportunistic socialite who happens to be willing to tough it out in a sham marriage to an affluent cheating bastard. While there is much joy to behold in the constant barrage of big screen eye candy, the core nature of the story allows little joy for any of the characters who inevitably get far from what could be called a happily ever after ending.

DiCaprio is without question inspired casting for Gatsby. He looks the part, provides the perfect presence and certainly exudes all the qualities we expect when bringing the character to life. What goes against him is simply his own superstar power presence that at times had me struggling to separate seeing Leo up there over Gatsby, and calling to question if a lesser know actor may have allowed us to accept more Gatsby than DiCaprio. It's for this very reason DiCaprio is hesitant to take on roles like this, certainly one with the inherent weight that goes along with anchoring this film. Regardless, the DiCaprio contingent will be pleased by his performance.

Joel Edgerton on the other hand, easily slips into the sleaze and hot temper that is Tom Buchanan. Carey Mulligan makes a fine Daisy, but isn't allowed to play it with much depth, and seeing the character here on the big screen, it's apparent what little was brought over in the translation. Maguire I admit, successfully brings his best Toby Maguire to Nick Carraway, who at the opening of the film is telling the tale of the summer of 1922 to his therapist in an alcohol rehabilitation hospital. He plays a great second fiddle and the only true friend to Gatsby, plus Maguire's wide eyed awkwardness is perfect and necessary for not going toe-to-toe opposite DiCaprio.

The 3D in an interesting choice here, as these days I tend to more frequently dissect the motivations for utilizing the technology in so many tentpole studio releases (other than inflating ticket prices). Luhrmann displays a keen eye and knows the proper place has 3D in this film. Whether it's the sweeping crane shots that successfully sell the lavish decadent atmosphere of Gatsby's parties, the speeding car scenes over the Queensboro Bridge, or even the many picture perfect establishing shots that would not be possible without a lot of help from expensive computer imagery, Luhrmann thankfully knows how to paint his cinematic canvas correctly with the additional dimension. Sometimes though, the simplest image of a single character framed in a shot with shallow depth of field is actually what works the best. But a lot of the film's expansive exterior shots rely heavily on CGI, which despite the best intentions of recreating the past, still look unabashedly CGI.

What surprised me was the much talked about Jay-Z-produced soundtrack, which sees fit to juxtaposition the sounds from the Jazz Age with contemporary artists tunes from Jay-Z himself, Florence + The Machine, Beyonce and Andre 3000. Frankly this overt musical stunt did little for my enjoyment of Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge, so I expected to abhor a similar attempt in Gatsby. But I was wrong on this count. The music is surprisingly not overdone or does it ever overstay its welcome in any of the scenes its utilized in. Don't get me wrong, you are well aware you are not hearing music historically accurate to the period, but with the Luhrmann's music video style of direction, the songs add another layer without becoming over the top distractions.

There is little subtlety or an attempt to re-invent the story itself, which will relieve literary purists (one of my junior year high school teachers particularly comes to mind), and The Great Gatsby certainly does not fall short in both the visual and musical departments. You may however grow weary of Gatsby's familiar penchant for calling folks "Old Sport," which he uses with drinking game frequency. It's a case of what works on the page quickly grows tiresome as movie dialogue. There are definitely many moments that are spot on, mainly the party scenes and rich retro costumes and decor, but you unfortunately don't get big pulses often enough throughout the near two and a half hour running time to really capture all the magic you have envisioned from the novel.

But for what could be considered the thankless task of bringing an iconic literary work to the big screen, what we get is an overall mixed bag blessed with lot of extravagant flash but in the end has far less soul. Though that almost seems fitting where Jay Gatsby is concerned.

The Great Gatsby opens in RealD 3D on May 10th.

REVIEW RATING: ★★½☆☆☆
Directed By: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher 
Studio: Warner Bros.
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 142 minutes

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