"Gatsby? What Gatsby?"
The Great Gatsby directed by the ever popular (or not so popular) Baz Luhrmann was released May 10th 2013. And it was pretty good; at least to me. However, I admit I am a little bias because I love Luhrmann. Many people don't understand that but, I do. I mean come on he directed Moulin Rouge and Australia (which are two of my favorite movies), so I can overlook the not so great Romeo + Juliet film that was released in 1996. Yet, even with that film he dared to be different, and sure it may have been a bit of a miss, but at least the man dared to add his own personal flare and originality to his work; can we really condemn him for that? Anyway back to Mr. Jay Gatsby....
This film is based on the very popular book " The Great Gatsby" written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I was assigned to read this book, along with many other children in high school. However, honestly I did not finish reading this book, but not because it wasn't a good, it was just not good timing... Anyway from what I remember from the book and what my friends told me who actually read the whole book, the movie does stay pretty true to the plot of the novel, which is always a plus. So for those who have read the book and are a little scared that the movie will stray to far from the book, rest assured the plot remains true and if you don't enjoy the film, that might not be the main reason.
Before we discuss the casting of this film, let's talk about the soundtrack. Now I know everyone either loves the soundtrack or hates it. Personally, I am indifferent about it. I think that this movie would have been great if it stuck to the originally type of music used in the 1920s. AKA: mostly jazz type music. However, I would only be okay with this if the movie was directed by any other man. But it was directed by Baz Luhrmann and I expect him to mix modernism with the past. It's his style and I believe he is good at it. If there is anyone who can get away with sticking modern-like music into a period piece, its Baz Luhrmann. Also please notice I said "modern-like" music! I think many people overreacted about the soundtrack saying "Ahhhh!!! It's not like the 1920s at all!" Truthfully, most of the music in this movie is rooted in the original jazz sound. It has the base of jazz and is modernized. I do agree that it is not the same music as the time period, but it is not so far off into left field that it doesn't make sense. When you go to see this film don't let the music make it or break it for you. Just let it flow in and out and accept it for the duration of the film, then when the film is over, decide if you hate the music. Later you might realize you didn't hate the music that much after all.
Alright... time to talk about casting!!!! I believe the casting of this film was pretty good.
I think that the casting of Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway was a bit random to me. Maguire is not one of my favorite actors; he is just very awkward to me, especially when the camera focuses on his face for long periods of time. Yet, in this movie Maguire is not half bad. Granted, half the time he is drunk, crazy or just confused so he didn't have to do any kind of acting that would require him to really strain himself. He isn't bad, but once again he is not one of my favorites; he does well though, for the most part.
If I could describe Carey Mulligan's performance in one word it would be haunting. She was radiant and beautiful. She was perfect for the role of Daisy; she just fits so well into the 1920's era that she was the natural choice for this role. Her smooth voice and little smirk makes the whole audience fall in love with her. Mulligan's performance is good and she works well with DiCaprio making the relationship between them convincing and believable. And that's all I can really say about her before giving away too much about the plot.
Leonardo DiCaprio... what else can I say. The man can act! He is good at his job and nobody can deny that. He made Gatsby come to life on the screen. I could just feel his energy coming through the screen, helping me follow the story. In the movie, you must wait for a good 25 mins before Gatsby even comes on screen. We all know Leo is playing Gatsby so for those first 25 mins my mind was building with tension just waiting for Gatsby to come on screen. And when he finally reveals himself, your heart jumps because on the screen you don't see DiCaprio, you see Jay Gatsby. DiCaprio was perfect for the role because he can go from happy and calm to a crazy mad man in seconds. He also is good at working his mysterious eyes which is what you need to play Gatsby. I'm not saying that this was his best movie role, however, I am saying if he wasn't Jay Gatsby this movie would not have been as good or as successful. They picked Leo to play Gatsby but he really did bring the character to life.
Overall I would give this movie a A - . It was very good and worth a see in the theaters. It was beautifully shot because Luhrmann is really good at making movies look pretty! The plot is good and has a mystery factor to it which will keep you guessing and intrigued until the very end. There are some cons of course, I do think it was a little slow at some moments. For example, the party scenes are drawn out a little longer than they should be, in my opinion. Things like that slow the movie down and make you wanna just movie on to the next scene. There are some funny parts in this film so you will get a chuckle now and then, but don't expect a lot of cheery moments. One more thing about the movie is they do include a lot of text from the book, which makes the movie easily quotable. For example, the title of this post is a quote from the movie and the book. It sums up the movie well. Gatsby is a man who is constantly trying to relive his past, while he is wishing he could change things about his past. And like every good movie quote, it reveals things about people in general. Our lives move on and we continue to move forward, yet there are some of us who continually look back, hurting their future's forever. Go see Jay Gatsby in theaters and prepare yourself for some wild parties and a crazy ride.
- Megan O'Neal
