So, is The Great Gatsby Great?
As I was preparing
to see The Great Gatsby recently, it just dawned on me that i was never
that big a fan of the book when I read it in high school and college!Now,
them's fightin words in some circles, I know. I would have been cast
out of the English Department back in the day for even whispering such
a thing. But you know,folks,once I admitted that I wasn't personally
beholden to the general groupthink that the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel
is a bona fide, undeniable literary classic, I eased up going into this
film. I relaxed. Heck, I even started to consider messing with those
in attendance who were there waiting for the lights to go down with
folded arms, already offended. How dare director Baz Luhrmann turn this
great work of lit-a-ra-tour into a gaudy, glossy, 3-D spectacle for
the uneducated mouth-breathers of the shopping-mall cineplexes! How
dare he infuse hip-hop into a story set in the stylish, elegant Roaring
20s! How dare he not film every scene exactly as F. Scott wrote it on
the page nearly 100 years ago! Reactions afterward were extreme, to
say the least. People either hated it (How dare he!) or loved it (How
daring!). So, where did I fall? Sigh. Clowns to the left of me... jokers
to the right... here I am, stuck in the middle again. I neither loved
it nor hated it. In fact, I had the same reaction to the film as I did
with the book both times I read it in my younger days. I appreciated
it. Its certainly a gorgeous film to see. The day Baz Luhrmann decided
to become a filmmaker, the world lost a fantastic art director. I can
only imagine what his house looks like! Actually, it probably wouldn't
live up to expectations either. At any rate, Leonardo DiCaprio stars
as Jay Gatsby, a Long Island millionaire who throws ridiculously lavish
parties, yet remains a mystery figure to most. He takes a liking to
his new neighbor, Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), who Gatsby takes to
calling Old Sport as a term of upper-crust endearment. Nick becomes
our entry into this world of despicable wealth and even more despicable
secrets. Gatsby is in love with Nicks cousin, Daisy Buchanan (Carey
Mulligan), the emotionally fragile wife of brutish Tom Buchanan (Joel
Edgerton). We come to learn that Gatsby has built his whole world around
winning Daisy away from Tom.But that world is largely a fake, a lie.
Gatsby is a lie. All the characters are, of course, lies of some form
or another - symbols of an era about to be brought down by the Great
Depression. Yeah, its a deep and resonant book. In fact, here's the
deal. I think The Great Gatsby is so layered, written by an author who
was so in tune with his time and his environment, that it probably only
fully works on the page. Luhrmann has made probably the absolute best
movie he is personally capable of making here. But I think there are
some stories that are only really meant to be great - to be classic
- in their pure original form. No filters. No interpretations. Just
you and the author. Most of the cast is allowed to pose and play dress-up
admirably. DiCaprio gives his usual committed star turn. Meanwhile,
Maguire and Mulligan look great, but they both flounder in parts that
have always been a bit too passive for my tastes. The real powerhouse
here is Edgertons Tom Buchanan. Its like Edgerton has been plucked out
of a time warp or something. He is so thoroughly in the moment in every
scene, adopting the thoughts and mannerisms and cadences that only arrogant
Old Money can exude, that he is just a wonder to watch. And you really
have to hand it to the artists who worked on this picture. Every shot
is meticulously planned and executed. And while the 3-D again dims an
otherwise vibrant and visually sumptuous film, there's no denying how
much flowers and confetti and smoke and light seemingly float and flicker
off the screen inviting you into this world as Gatsby invites Nick into
his world. If you're going to see it, see it in the best theater possible,
Old Sport. Spending money, after all, IS a responsibility.
The Great Gatsby
is rated PG-13 for some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying
and brief language.
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