Hello Hello boys and girls! I know I haven't written one of these in a while, but please forgive me as it's coming up to my exams. I do have a number of films lined up to put on here but I saw 'The Great Gatsby' last night and felt compelled to write about it straight away! Plus, it gives me a much needed and well deserved break from revision.
I think the key to simply liking or disliking this movie comes down to two things. Number One: Did you like, and more importantly, fully understand the F.Scott Fitzgerald novel? and Number Two: Do you actually like Baz Luhrman? There are so many things to say about this little beauty of a film so I think we'll start with the direction itself.
Costing around the sum of $105million this film spares no expense in its successful attempt to show the lavish and hedonistic lifestyle of people in the 1920's. The hedonistic attitude that is shown by all comes across very well in the film and you are completely submerged in the world of Mr Gatsby. In all fairness, in about the first five/ten minutes or so Mr Luhrman's direction, primarily camera angles and effects, did make me feel almost a little motion sickness, there was just so much going on and the quick cut transitions were coming in all over the place. Don't get me wrong, I like Baz Luhrman, and for people that KNOW they don't like him and then go and watch this film and bitch about it's "style" I want to give a slap! Luhrman isn't suddenly going to change his style just because YOU liked the novel and thought it should be done more subtly, clearly that's not the point!! Anyway, much like in his other films 'Moulain Rouge' and 'Romeo and Juliet' the set up of the film is very busy, almost animated and cartoon esque which is a little much for the viewer to take in, but it levels out pretty soon into the movie so have no fear.
The symbolism that is in the book, for example features such as the "green light" signifying the American Dream, is something that many a GCSE or AS level student will have slaved over for months and probably will now hate. In this film it is done perfectly, portraying these symbols with great significance and making the viewer understand the tragedy that is Gatsby's obsessive mind. The introduction of minor characters such as Wolfsheim and Owl Eyes (the man in the library) is not dwelled on for much time but major props to whoever does the casting because in my mind they are spot on. All the characters are perfect for me. I liked the use of the voiceover from Nick and the kind of back story of him being a depressed alcoholic in the hospital type place at the beginning of the film (I cant remember what its actually called). Obviously the effect that New York had on him was too much and this is in fact what happened to F.Scott Fitzgerald which was a nice little contextual detail.
The soundtrack of this movie has been much debated, with modern artists such as Kanye West, Amy Winehouse and mainly Jay Z some people believe that this music is out of time and doesn't fit with the style or setting of the movie. I disagree, although when I heard that Jay Z covered the majority of the soundtrack I was a little perplexed. Jay Z to me is something that comes on half way through a night at a club when you're smashed out of your brains and suddenly think it's a good idea to start pretending that you're "gangsta". However, the way the rap was used in the party scenes and as transition music worked really well! Not only did it make the movie more accessible to younger fans who may not have read the novel, it really spiced up the soul of the film and, without wanting to sound cliché, reminded us that actually, Gatsby IS a gangster!
Been waiting to come on to the characters, Jay Gatsby himself is played by the timeless super-star that is, Leonardo DiCaprio. If anyone has a problem with this film then fine, if anyone has a problem with the way in which Leo performed the role of Gatsby then shame on you! It's not easy to play someone that has essentially been hollow on the inside for five years besides some burning desire to get back an old lover and I think DiCaprio shows Gatsby's obsession for Daisy so so well. He has built her up into something in his head that she can never live up to in real life and Leo shows this perfectly, as if he is being torn apart inside his head and he is so frustrated by the way things aren't going the way he thinks they will, the way he has seen them going over and over again in his head for years as he tries to "repeat the past" with Daisy.
Daisy, played by Carey Mulligan is a very complex character, I'm not going to write much about her as you will get more out of it if you watch the film yourself of infact red the book. She's kind of annoyingly heartbreaking. In my mind, you're not really supposed to like Daisy, especially the way she behaves at the end of the story (no spoilers here haha!) However I think that Mulligan does her justice in both the good parts and the bad, and at the end of the day the way the two are together is how I believe it would have been, it wouldn't have been all hearts and roses all the time, both characters are in torment.
Just a quick props to Tobey Maguire and Elizabeth Debicki who play Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker, two huge but often underrated roles performed very well. The only thing is that I wish the relationship between these two had formed a little more but no judgement, I still loved them.
I genuinely could write about this film all day and PLEASE if you have anything to say, debate, agree with, or disagree with anything I have said feel free to comment or email me at suzy.keeping@gmail.com or suzy.keeping@hotmail.com and I shall be happy to chat!
The Verdict
If you've read the actual review you'll know what this bit is going to say! Absolute one hundred million percent yes! A very enjoyable film, beyond clever and I believe the way that Fitzgerald would have wanted the film of his timeless novel to be. However, if you don't like Baz Luhrman then the style probably will piss you off a bit, but it works very well for this film and shows the symbolism in some features that is key to the telling of the story.
In my mind, if you absolutely adored the original film - the Robert Redford, Mia Farrow one - chances are you wont like this, its very different and very stylised. However, if you liked the book and the many layers that come with it I think you'll love this film.
I would advise reading the book BEFORE you see the film to any exam students out there or anyone who is planning to do both, you'll get more out of both things that way.
Bravo Mr Luhrman, The Great Gatsby is a credit to you!
Cheers Team,
Suze x
