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Movie Review: The Great Gatsby

new-great-gatsby-posterBaz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, The Great Gatsby, paints vivid pictures of each and every one of his scenes with brilliant eye candy. However, though the film excellently captures the overall look, it fails to grasp the emotion present in the novel.

The story focuses on the happenings during the summer of 1922 when Nick Carraway, portrayed by Tobey Maguire, moves to Long Island, New York. His neighbor is the mysterious Jay Gatsby, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who longs for his lost love Daisy Buchanan, acted by Carey Mulligan. When Carraway starts to befriend Gatsby, he is enveloped in an incredible drama that stays with him for the rest of his life.

Director Baz Luhrmann only makes one slight change to the book’s script by starting the film with Carraway talking in a therapist’s office after having gone through a major alcohol addiction, insomnia and many other struggles. Although, in typical Luhrmann fashion, the words that flutter on the screen while Carraway is writing in his journal is the very same language Fitzgerald used. This choice in style makes it clear that Luhrmann’s intention is to explain the novel’s intense meaning by referencing it constantly. However, he seems to fall short of doing so because the cheesy handwriting looks almost like Luhrmann is not taking the story seriously. Although, that also is a habit of his based on his other works.

Based on what the audience has seen from Luhrmann’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo And Juliet,” his main goal seems to be to get ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ in response to his visuals of color, music and clothing.

Throughout the movie huge symbols, like the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, are exemplified with Luhrmann’s use of luminosity. This beacon represents Gatsby’s love for Daisy, whether it be clear as day or hard to see and confusing. Additionally, the bright emerald light shining through the dull fog makes it all the more symbolic. Aside from the figurative elements Luhrmann creates with color, he also seems to invest a lot of money in making that beautiful golden look of the rich in the 1920s with the lavish crystal lights and glitter that literally falls from the sky during Gatsby’s parties.

Some scenes feel more impactful because of the heavy sound the remixed, modern music held. For example, near the beginning of the film, Carraway tags along with Daisy’s husband, Tom Buchanan, played by Joel Edgerson. The two go to a hotel with Tom’s mistress, Myrtle Wilson, portrayed by Isla Fisher, and waits for Wilson’s family to stop by. Eventually, Carraway has a few drinks and is drunk for the second time in his life. During this dizzy stage, Jay-Z’s “$100 Bill” echoes in the ears of the audience. This mix of jazz and hip-hop appears to paint a picture of the blur that the alcohol in the scene creates. This is also true when Lana Del Rey’s “Young And Beautiful” is repeated several times throughout the film during the intimate moments. The song is assumed to be the theme tune due to the repetition and the bittersweet tone which conveys the overall feeling of the film.

Luhrmann has shown that he is knowledgeable about the era’s society through the clothing and styles worn by the characters. Many times the male characters are seen wearing boater straw hats and the women have short, waved bobs. Everything from the pearled earrings to the red lipstick are grand. Luhrmann uses this boldness in color to bring out the perfection the 1920s tried to insinuate.

However, Luhrmann simply tells the audience the moral of the story with the dialogue rather than letting the them draw their own conclusion like Fitzgerald did. In one scene, Luhrmann presents Gatsby telling Carraway of his struggles. Instead of letting the viewer try to figure out Gatsby, Luhrmann hands them all of the answers through this scene. In a way, the film seems to lack significance because he spoon feeds the meaning to the audience.

When it comes to the acting quality, DiCaprio does not seem to have to lift a finger to portray Gatsby, whose inner turmoil makes him such a melancholy character. This was especially true when Gatsby tells Daisy that he loves her over and over again with little response. Milligan has the brute of the difficulty because of how many layers Fitzgerald creates Daisy with. However, Milligan appears to get the jist of her character by acting ignorant. The way Milligan says, “Gatsby? What Gatsby?” is entirely realistic to the tone of Daisy’s character. On the other hand, Edgerson seems to bring out the emotion of Tom when he confesses that he truly loves Daisy no matter how many mistresses he has. This passion comes as a surprise because Edgerson respectively acts selfish throughout the whole of the film. When playing Carraway, Maguire excelled by holding true to the wallflower-like character during several social scenes in the film. For example, as Tom and Jordan Baker, played by Elizabeth Debicki, are driving with Carraway to town, he is extremely reserved and does not go out of his way to answer Tom’s questions. This is a perfect depiction of Carraway’s character from the outside. However, in the book, the inner Carraway seems to be a little more willing to take a risk. This is not shone quite as well in the film.

Overall, The Great Gatsby is dazzling to the eye, but lacks the depth that makes the novel a classic. Although, attempts are made by Luhrmann to make his movie almost like illustrations that Fitzgerald could have put alongside the text. While it is obvious that Luhrmann has analyzed the symbolic meaning of the novel, the film falls short of showing what he knows. In conclusion, Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby is one of those movies that is to be taken as a piece of meat for a fangirl instead of an Oscar-winning phenomenon.

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