THE GREAT GATSBY was released last Friday under a shower of bad critics. Some said there was too much Luhrmann and not enough Fitzgerald, other found it artificial, some thought it was overblown and incorrectly interpreted, the usual suspects flung enough poo at the flick to get me curious. See, I'm a Francis Scott Fitzgerald fan and I have read THE GREAT GATSBY four or five times, although the last occurrence was around 2007 *.Strange thing maybe, I'm also a Baz Luhrmann enthusiast. I thought his adaptation of ROMEO AND JULIET was flawed by incredibly ballsy and I dig the hell out of MOULIN ROUGE! **. So really, what were those critics talking about? How could it go wrong? THE GREAT GATSBY is most certainly flawed, but it gives us occasional peaks into the seamless magic of Francis Scott Fitzgerald's universe. For that, it is already a successful film.
If you don't know THE GREAT GATSBY's story, you're missing out. But I'll fill you in. Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) just rented an old house in Long Island, surrounded by the extravagant mansions of rich people. His new world is separated in two poles. West Egg, where the newly rich reside and East Egg, where the centennial family fortunes are. Nick is in West Egg, but his cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) lives in East Egg with her husband Tom (Joel Edgerton). Nick also happens to be neighbor to the mysterious Gatsby (Leonardo di Caprio) who has been throwing lavish parties lately and who is the talk of the town. As Gatsby takes interest into Nick, he finds out him and his cousin know each other from a long time ago. From a lifetime ago. A lifetime where they promised each other things and where they were different people. Gatsby wants this life back.
So were the scathing critics right? Yes and no. There are some elements to Luhrmann's movie that are so out of place, they feel grotestque. They are part of his trademark approach and I usually love them, but I do think he got them wrong this time. For example, the soundtrack. I understand Kanye West and Jay Z are luxuriant dudes, but they don't have their place in this movie. Neither does club music during parties. This is a a story about the Jazz Age, dammnit. Wouldn't it have been hard to put some jazz in? Have the contemporary songs interpreted by a big band at Gatsby's party or something? I mean, it wouldn't have been that hard to think this out of the box. Otherwise, you do have to be at least familiar with Luhrmann's style to not let it throw you off. I don't think anybody else could've have extracted the extravagant magic of the setting as well as he did in this movie. Luhrmann understood the fantastic nature of the world, seen through Nick Carraway's eyes.
There are, through THE GREAT GATSBY, short lived moments where the film seems to perfectly understand the novel and translate all of his beauty. It rarely last longer than a minute at the time, but when it happens, oh, the bliss! For example, the scene where Nick meets Gatsby the first time and talks about his unique smile. Leo di Caprio is a magnificent bastard as Gatsby and more than ever in this particular scene. He radiates Gatsbiness through the screen. He goes a little heavy sometimes on the Daisy worship, but as a party host, he truly is The Great Gatsby. Carey Mulligan maybe is the weakest cast here as she goes hard into the jaded Daisy and clashes with the more restrained game of her cast members, but just from her physical game, I thought her performance was acceptable. She looks exactly how I pictured Daisy Buchanan to be. Also, kudos to Elizabeth Debicki who plays Jordan Baker to near perfection.
So THE GREAT GATSBY isn't the vapid atrocity the release-day critic have lead you to believe it was. It's not a transcendent adaptation of Fitzgerald's transcendent novel either. I wish it was, but it's not. It's a good movie, though. THE GREAT GATSBY will beat time and occupy its rightful place in Baz Luhrmann's legacy. If you don't like Lurhmann, you'll probably hate this movie. But I like his work and believe nobody else could have breathe such life in Fitzgerald's work. They were a match made in heaven, despite that Lurhmann sometimes work with blinders on. If you pictured THE GREAT GATSBY, the novel, as an understated, contemplative update on the Victorian drama, this is not for you. But if like me, you read it as a fantasy journey through the eyes of young and naive Nick Carraway, you ought to give the movie a chance, because that's how Baz Luhrmann pictured it too.
THREE STARS
* I'm one of these dudes who was totally turned to Fitzgerald by Haruki Murakami. Weird, I know. Norwegian Wood, baby. Norwegian Wood.
** Might come as a surprise to some, but I love musicals.