The Great Gatsby review

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel about the decadence of society and the unhealthiness of chasing the past has made its 2013 big screen debut after a brief delay brought on by a busy holiday movie season. Bahz Luhrmann’s take on “The Great Gatsby” undoubtedly provides a lot of food for thought but how much of that is attributed to actual quality storytelling is something that I struggle to ascertain despite being adapted from a novel heralded as an American classic.

Tobey Maguire portrays protagonist Nick Caraway who, in a framing device through which the story is being narrated, seeks therapy for depression, regaling his doctor with the story of his summer in New York of the year 1922 and eventually writing about it as therapy. His story covers the meeting of his good friend Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) and how their friendship has enlightened him on the darker and more tragic elements of the human condition.

Luhrman’s sensibilities are applied both full force and yet with a surprising amount of restraint counterproductive to his stylization. This weird sense of direction may sound like a contradiction but in practice, his techniques serve to give the film a unique flavor where his bombastic style can fit, while allowing the story to breathe and develop organically after pulling back on the bells and whistles to focus on the movie’s themes of human nature’s abuse of upper-class status.

“The Great Gatsby” has a lot of unique ideas going for it. The framing device which effectively makes Caraway a cipher for the late Fitzgerald puts a unique spin on the original story and even allows Maguire to stretch himself a bit more in terms of his range, going back and forth between the courteous, young, wide eyed, and idealistic protagonist of the story that he is perfectly casted for and a slightly older, damaged, and more cynical Nick that asks him to a little bit more than his career has typically asked of him.

DiCaprio continues to impress as with almost every role across his career, with a charismatic yet complex and multilayered performance, which at this point, isn’t even news anymore.

Additionally, Luhrmann’s affinity for modern pop music treats the film better than one would think. Occasionally, a background scene occurs that can distract if you focus in on it but the actual scenes in which they exist serve to generally benefit the story’s build up of lavish and decadent lifestyles in such a way that can connect the film to modern audiences. This works to varying extents but the experimentation is commendable nonetheless.

While the novel focused more on the detriment of decadence to society, this film spins it into a different direction. Luhrmann’s take on the material is ultimately about the hollowness of lavish lifestyle; a study of the idea that at any given time, the carelessly living upper-class is caught between the pursuit of greed and self gratification at the cost of others, or using their assets selfishly for what may have once been good intentions.

“The Great Gatsby’s” backbone, namely its fascinating study and execution of its source material’s themes and history, is solid and thought provoking enough to cover up the fact that there’s a general sense of hollowness about the film that’s rather difficult to place my finger on.

Despite the film’s use of effects, beautiful camera work, large sets and locales, and general sense of style, the world feels oddly empty and devoid of life. This goes beyond a feeling of low population which is not necessarily the case; Carrie Mulligan’s performance as Daisy, Gatsby’s object of affection and obsession feels so bland and phoned in that she overshoots the characters intentional shallowness.

The layers of complexity seem to have been ultimately saved up for Maguire and DiCaprio exclusively, who have a solid chemistry together and collaboratively distract from the fact that the remainder of the cast performances are merely of workman quality.

“The Great Gatsby’s” sense of style becomes something of a double edged sword in this regard, as the first half of the film, ignoring the quirks of the source material’s interpretation, quickly succumbs to the issue of style over substance, despite how impressive said style is, which creates a massive sense of whiplash when the film slows down towards its final act, which does bring the story full circle but still feels oddly disconnected from the bombastic first half.

The greatest enemy of “The Great Gatsby,” contrary to what one may believe, is not its contemporary stylization but ultimately its unevenness. I definitely give it a full recommendation and undeniably enjoyed it but I’m still struggling to determine whether or not that is because of its own legitimate quality. Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby” is an admirable effort but due to its makeup, may be more of a fascinating film than a good one.


7 Out of 10