The Great Gatsby (2013) PG-13 142 min
Based on classic literature, Depressing, Drama, Emotional, Imaginative, Original, Romance, Sentimental, Thought-provoking
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Amitabh Bachchan
A lot/Strong: Alcohol
Some/Mild: Death, Violence, Gore, Language, Sensuality, Smoking
No: Drugs
Overall grade: "B"
The Verdict: "Flawed, but visually stunning interpretation of the classic masterpiece"
The Verdict: "Flawed, but visually stunning interpretation of the classic masterpiece"
Main Strength: visually breathtaking, great soundtrack
Main Weakness: oversimplification: failure to preserve the complexity, the depth, and the richness of the classic novel
On the outside the 2013 adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" looks like a beautifully crafted exclusive jewelry box. The quality of the content, however, is not consistent with that of the exterior: inside the box is not a tiny priceless natural diamond, but a huge, tasteless, cheaply-looking cubic zirconia.
That does not mean, however, that Luhrmann’s latest Movie is not a pleasure to watch. I would even venture to say that “The Great Gatsby” can be considered a must see movie, mostly because of its lavish, visually stunning cinematography, if not because of the poor interpretation of the classic story, the interpretation that lacks both depth and substance.
Indeed, “The Great Gatsby” is visually breathtaking in almost literal sense. There are many moments in the movie that make you hold your breath and leave you utterly overwhelmed by the piercing richness of the miraculously powerful visual feast created by Baz Luhrmann, Simon Duggan (cinematography), Catherine Martin (production design, costume design), Beverly Dunn (set decoration), and Ian Gracie (art direction).
“The Great Gatsby” features quite impressive camera work. In some scenes it almost feels like the camera somehow gets attached to your heart and cleverly tricks it into beating faster - with excitement or in anticipation.
Another strong suit of the movie is its amazing soundtrack (Craig Armstrong) that masterfully, with the remarkable precision captures the twists and turns of the novel’s delicate mood. While some people were not impressed with the hip hop mix of the original soundtrack, I found it to be in the surprising harmony with both the distinguished literary source and the visual magnificence of its 2013 cinematic adaptation.
Unfortunately, Baz Luhrmann's vision, so delightfully original in regards with the exterior details, suffers a noticeable setback when it has to deal with more serious matters, like the delicate substance of the novel, with all its depth and complexity.
That is precisely the area where the 2013 adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” lets us down, suffering from all kinds of issues: the misunderstood and misinterpreted main characters, the poor Character development in general, the dragging story sprinkled with wrong accents, the added unnecessary scenes that are not in the novel, and finally the missing important scenes that actually are in the novel.
Being excessively focused on the love triangle between Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, and Daisy Buchanan, the 2013 adaptation fails to give proper attention to the several strategically important plot lines, including the relationship between Nick Carraway and Daisy’s close friend (and pathological liar) Jordan Baker (Elizabeth Debicki) or the failed marriage of George and Myrtle Wilson (Isla Fisher).
The creators also apparently did not care enough to include several prominent scenes, like the famous phone call from Nick Carraway to Meyer Wolfsheim or the surprising visit of Gatsby’s father – both happening after the certain sad event close to the end of the story.
All of that even further reduced the characters of Meyer Wolfsheim, Jordan Baker, Tom Buchanan’s mistress Myrtle Wilson, and her deceived husband George Wilson (Jason Clarke) to being hardly more than sketchily portrayed plot devices.
While reviewing the excellent Jay Clayton’s “The Great Gatsby” made in 1974 I voiced a concern that the Baz Luhrmann's 2013 adaptation might fall into a trap of excessively romanticizing Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan and thus misrepresenting their complex relationship by portraying it as a formulaic tragic love story.
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what seemed to happen in the movie which essentially tells us a tear-jerking story about a pair of cute lovebirds who naively dream of impossible only to be tragically separated by the cruel fate. A high human tragedy from the novel has been reduced to a vulgar love tragedy in the movie.
There is also a certain disconnect between the narrative that strongly hints at all the Gatsby’s illegal activities, unscrupulous business dealings, and shady connections and the inspired sugary image that we see on the screen.
Charmingly passionate and overly sensitive, Romeo-like Leonardo DiCaprio's Gatsby from the 2013 movie in no way looks like a shrewd trusted associate of sleazy Meyer Wolfsheim and a prominent member of his notorious gang.
This inability to create a believable character seems to be caused more by the Baz Luhrmann’s faulty vision than by the DiCaprio’s acting, which was generally acceptable.
The same is true for Carey Mulligan whose simplistic, one-dimensional Daisy Buchanan seemed to be more a failed director’s concept than a failed acting project.
While both the 1974 movie and the 2013 movie portray Daisy Buchanan as a delicate flower, in the 1974 interpretation the magnificent Mia Farrow is quick to expose these peculiar, barely hidden thorns, the dangerously poisonous thorns that quite naturally pierce poor Gatsby’s heart and lead to his inevitable demise.
The 2013 version, on the other hand, misses the opportunity to shatter the silly romantic heroine image until it becomes too late. As the movie fails to properly introduce Daisy’s dark side in a timely manner, the transition from the sweet little honey to the strikingly shallow, uncaring, selfish person, a person who “…smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into <her> money or <her> vast carelessness” loses most of its punch and credibility.
With the main characters in the Baz Luhrmann’s movie being not that impressive, the supporting cast does better overall, although not without some regrettable blunders.
One of the biggest disappointments was an absolute miscasting that completely ruined one of the characters, so intriguing in the novel. Amitabh Bachchan was way off target in his performance, and generally did not seem to be a good choice for the role of Meyer Wolfsheim. Whatever Mr. Bachchanwas portraying in the movie hardly bore any resemblance to the notorious character who first “fixed” the World's Series in 1919 and then came up with that neat little idea of opening numerous drug stores that were very busy selling some useful “prescription drugs” during the Prohibition years.
Joel Edgerton, on the other hand, turned out to be a great Tom Buchanan. I have yet to find a single moment in the movie where Mr. Edgerton’s refined performance was even slightly off base.
Another solid acting work in “The Great Gatsby” unexpectedly came from Tobey Maguire whose nuanced performance as Nick Carraway was a pleasant surprise indeed. By creating such memorable character Mr. Maguire proved that he is capable of something more than being a shabby Spider-Man from the primitive superhero franchise for teenagers.
Nearing conclusion of my review, one last thing that I must touch upon is the scene that turned out exceptionally well in the movie and therefore deserves a special mention.
This is a key scene in the hotel room, the climax of the story, when the all-powerful image of himself that Jay Gatsby had been so craftily creating for quite a while turned out to be just another colossus with feet of clay. By blasphemously referring to himself as a Son of God, Gatsby was effectively claiming omnipotence (that he, of course, did not possess), omnipotence that included one particular power that he craved for so desperately - the supernatural power to repeat the past.
As the tension had reached its highest point, the Gatsby’s human weakness and his frighteningly insecure obsession with Daisy were shockingly exposed. That was the end of the Gatsby’s dream, although he refused to accept the finality of the failure until his very last breath.
I have to give credit for this magnificent scene to Baz Luhrmann. It is because of his efforts you could almost physically hear the hissing sound of the escaping air when the magic spell of Gatsby’s power was calculatingly popped by Tom Buchanan, just like a colorful defenseless hot air balloon gets swiftly popped by a single deadly sting of a sharp needle.
In conclusion, despite the movie's serious flaws, I would still recommend watching “The Great Gatsby”, mostly because of its fantastic exterior that deserves to be seen, enjoyed, and appreciated, major shortcomings above notwithstanding. I would also highly recommend watching the 1974 adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" for those not familiar with it.
Overall grade: "B"
Overall grade: "B"
Directing: "B", Acting: "B", Visual Effects: "A"
Story Line: "B-", Aftertaste: "B", Date Movie: "A-"
Family Friendliness: "F", Original Concept: "Yes"
Intellectual Toxicity: Low to Medium
Spiritual Toxicity: Low
Intellectual Toxicity: Low to Medium
Spiritual Toxicity: Low
