The Great Gatsby

Without a doubt one of the most anticipated films of 2013, The Great Gatsby, directed by Baz Luhrman, is sadly more of a letdown than a success. Even though it was said that the cast, the soundtrack, the costumes and the props were perfect, the particular 'feel' of the film, that the book was engulfed in, was terribly lacking. It was a very good adaptation of the book (even though missed some events and stretched some too much), but not a film.

The story revolves around Nick (Tobey Maguire), who happens to be a neighbour of a very rich man, Gatsby (played by Leonardo DiCaprio). The whole catch is that Nick's cousin Daisy (Carrey Mulligan) is Gatsby's long lost love. By living directly on the opposite side of the bay, Gatsby tries to attract Daisy's attention by throwing ravishing parties with as many guests as possible. Eventually Nick organises their meeting and things turn to unimaginable chaos as Gatsby desperately tries to steal Daisy away from her husband. 

This story is well-known. The book is one of the American classics and thus it is always risky to adapt such a popular novel. There will always be negative reactions. Obviously, with this film, the decision was to exaggerate the extravaganza of the 1920s, the parties and the fashion, the contrasts between the main characters. Sadly, the latter was executed poorly. Daisy was made to be a prostitute, with her low-pitched, deep voice, it always seemed she was voicing a porn film. Gatsby, who was supposed to be left mysterious to the very end, was portrayed as the calm yet extremely animated and comical, childish person. To be honest it looked ridiculous to see DiCaprio acting so dazed and confused (haha), immature. However, it is amusing to note that the scenes of Gatsby's lack of maturity were the funniest and the most entertaining. Which also proves the film's failure.

What I actually enjoyed, though, included the well organised budget and the overall acting. The props, the fashion and the soundtrack, as mentioned before, were outstanding. I am well aware of the fact that many disagreed with the utilisation of modern songs in the film, however for me they were well-suited and helped to form the atmosphere. The definition of luxury and the glamour has changed over the years and only by using the present definition the director could show the Greatness of Gatsby. The fashion and the props were absolutely perfect. Well, that's not surprising as the clothes were designed by the genius Miuccia Prada... Everything that concerns the environment, the stages was plotted with extreme accuracy and precision. In this sense the film gets an A+. However, as it is  noted  above, that does not make a film, that makes an adaptation, which is a misfortune and a miscalculation.

It's worth mentioning, though, that despite the director's sad work of deciding on the character of the main actors, they executed it perfectly. The hot-tempered Gatsby, even if it didn't fit in his role in the book, was very convincing and very inspiring. Even not being a real fan of Tobey Maguire, I can say that his role didn't annoy as much as in Spider man. Here, he seemed in place, with his dull and childish voice and indecisive actions. Carey Mulligan, even adopting a prostitute's voice, seemed lovable, not to mention pretty and glamorous, innocent and sexy. I wished to see more of the two other characters, Tom Buchanan and Jordan Baker, which were cast terrifically.  Sadly, only in a few episodes I could admire the actors' work.

What annoyed and surprised me was the direction of the film. Baz Luhrman chose an old fashioned way of storytelling, with scenes overlapping, characters explaining their emotions, and an exceeding amount of slow motion scenes followed by very rapid change of frequency. It was very disturbing to watch, it seemed inconsistent. Moreover, the director put too much emphasis on the symbolism of various things. The green light, the flowers, the mansion, the clothing, the cars, the glasses of the doctor on billboard - everything seemed to have a bigger meaning, yet again, not consistently expressed. It felt as if it was mentioned and needed to be very important, but not explained throughout thus losing its purpose.

Overall, the film is far from successful, however, it is very entertaining. I could not force myself to watch again sober, though.

5/10