Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Now Playing: The Great Gatsby

I haven’t read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel since, well, high school. That was, like, a millennia ago. I do remember devouring it and wanting more (I ended up buying and reading his collected works). This is also one of maybe five books that LilBro has read to the end and enjoyed – so there’s some cross-demographic appeal there. Upon hearing that Baz Luhrmann would be putting his unique spin on The Great Gatsby, I was a little more than intrigued.

It is everything you would expect from a Luhrmann flick: pomp, glitter, drama, and messed-up relationships. These are the same things you get from the novel. What is missing, however, is the tense and eloquent prose which allows us to see the characters without the characters being able to see themselves. There’s a little bit of it via words floating across the screen, but it’s just not the same. What it lacks in scripting it makes up for in scenery and setting. The slight whine of the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, the JG crest imprinted on every surface of Gatsby’s grotesque mansion, the shiny yellow motorcar, the costumery (oh, the costumery!)… all very evocative.
Casting was excellent as well – great picks in Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Carey Mulligan, and the always-surprising Leo DiCaprio.  I could have done without Tobey Maguire. Then again, I can’t think of anything I really like him in.

We also watched it in 3D, which may have amped up the gloss factor. Those party scenes… it was almost as if I was there, tasting the champagne, swimming in the pool, blinded by fireworks. Very entertaining and certainly worth watching. 4 out of 5 stars.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Is Leo finally gonna get his Oscar??

Malecasta said...

An Oscar nom? Sure. As Oscar win? taht would really depend on how shallow the pool is. I mean, he was good - but I thought he was much better The Departed and Revolutionary Road: http://dissolvedrants.blogspot.ca/2009/01/now-playing-revolutionary-road.html