Review: The Great Gatsby

Where do we begin?

Firstly, Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation was accurate and true to the novel, only because it felt like F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby purely for Luhrmann to direct.  He even makes a cameo appearance, hard to recognize, but Luhrmann has one of those forgettable faces you always have to Google.  Contrarily, his work is anything but forgettable. 

Please note, before proceeding that this review is from the perspective of a cinematography fanatic and literature nerd, so everything will be my incredibly perceptive and overly-biased opinion.

If I had to use a word to describe this movie, I would say it was “Gatsby”.  Baz Luhrmann did not hold back on the garish glamour and extravagant theatrics, as I am sure many of you have already read about in other reviews.  Although it obtained a score of 51% by Rotten Tomatoes, which I can assure you, also had me a little fearful and worried, it was a perfect representation of “new money” in the roaring 20’s.   

I was pleased with most of the character choices, even the unknowns delivered worthy performances in their portrayals.  I thought maybe having a famous face like Leo DiCaprio’s would take away from who Gatsby is, but instead contributed to it.  One thing is certain, even though Leo is plagued with the curse of “never getting an Oscar no matter how well I perform” he pulls off the “guy who becomes so consumed with an idea that he loses all rationality”, which is who Gatsby really is. 

Also, I realized that Leo is good at dying.  There was a bit of Jack Dawson and Romeo Monatgue in Gatsby’s eyes when he was shot.  In fact one of my friends mentioned it was a bit of a tongue-in-cheek reminder of Titanic. 

As for Tobey Maguire, he carried the story as the narrator Nick Carraway.  I was a bit upset when I found out that Luhrmann turned Nick into a depressed alcoholic with a shrink, but within the opening scenes, I knew why he decided to take this route.  The book indicates that Nick leaves New York and returns to his morals, but really, if we had to put ourselves in his shoes, no one can bear witness to all these vile secrets and not be mentally unstable.  

Carey Mulligan managed to be superficial and adorable at the same time, much like we have come to know Daisy to be like.  In previous work, we have seen Mulligan be emotive and add depth to her characters, she maintains Daisy’s vacant demeanour.   In fact, I finally understand Daisy’s easy-to-love, all-American girl image much better than I did when I was a high-school student, Gatsby's love for her is believable.

Jay Z’s music was quite fitting too.  There were more songs in the trailer and credits than the actual movie.  It was quite a pleasure to hear some old school Jay Z blended well with the 20’s theme.  As an appreciator of independent music and a fan of the XX, I felt a fire stir up in my heart every time I heard their score throughout the movie.   

The movie matches the book quite well.  It is longer than two hours, for good reason, and I only noticed two things that were not shown.  Two things that do not take away from the meaning and the message of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel.  Everything was well thought out and put together.      

If I had to advise you on watching it in 3D or not… then I would have to ask you, “Why not?” It was shot entirely in 3D and if you consider all the lengths Baz Luhrmann and his team went, to recreate the memory and vision of a literary genius you will know why he took so long to release it.

You could watch the movie without reading the book, but I would definitely read the book first (I am talking to you Matrics!), that way you can appreciate what Luhrmann has done to bring the Great Gatsby to life. 

This movie walks away with a decent stamp of approval:  5 gold Gatsby stars.