REVIEW: THE GREAT GATSBY
Here's the irony I had walking into Baz Lurhmann's "The Great Gatsby:" most people who I've talked to refer to "Gatsby" as that book that they had to read in their high school English class. As someone who's currently enrolled in a high school English class...I've never read "The Great Gatsby," mostly because I'd assumed we'd have gotten to it by now, but...nope. We did however watch half of the 1974 Jack Clayton version starring Robert Redford, which was, to say the least, romantic but dry. I was hoping this version wouldn't share these undesirable qualities.
Wow, is it good to be right. Luhrmann's "Gatsby," which was moved from December 2012 to now for some reason, is a gorgeous film with enormous scope and, dare I say, brave decisions. All my peers had raved about the "Gatsby" adaptation, but then again they did the same for "Iron Man 3," and well, that didn't quite meet the mark for me.
Along with being unfamiliar with the source material, I was also void of seeing any of Luhrmann's past films, like "Moulin Rouge!" and "Romeo + Juliet." I knew his style though, through reading critiques of his work, like how "R+J" featured modern day actors talking in the original Shakespearean language, and how in "Rouge!" he had 19th century people singing 20th century pop hits. This is the first thing I'd like to touch on about the movie: the use of modern hip-hop (mostly Jay-Z, who executive produced this film) in the film's roaring 20s backdrop...I loved it. It worked perfectly, and was an extremely bold decision to add music not all people who read the book in English class back in the day would enjoy. It was a risk that totally paid off.
Secondly, style drips off "The Great Gatsby" in typical grandeur, well, Gatsby fashion. The parties dazzle with sparkling, exotic color, with flappers and dapper gents alike getting down and feeling loose at one of Gatsby's extravagant parties that the man himself rarely attends. His status is mythical until finally he does come down from behind the curtain and strikes up conversation with out narrator Nick, who is recalling the story to us via narration, which wonderfully binds the film together perfectly.
DiCaprio hits few to no wrong notes, as Gatsby, the effervescently charming gentleman's gentleman who churns out the phrase "old sport" like he does compliments and favors to Nick, in order to get closer to his cousin Daisy, and the two eventually form a solid friendship. That's all I'll say to those who haven't read the classic, like myself, and that's all you really need to know to be intrigued by it. Mulligan is the gorgeous Daisy, the center of both her husband Tom's and Gatsby's affection. All of the actors the film has employed could easily have been 20s silent film stars, with DiCaprio's slicked back ease, Mulligan's blond hair and wide eyes, and of course, Tobey Maguire's age-defying face and those big oceans of eyes that look on curiously at Gatsby's parties and social events.
Every shot of "The Great Gatsby" is ambitious whether zooming in or out on New York's ever hopeful skylines or just on the character's faces as they weave a web of confusion and deception. If you've read the book, you're familiar with the surprising escalation this admittedly a tad long film takes with its characters, but if you're like me, you'll eat up every delicious shot of scenery, partying, and general debauchery that occurs in this magnificent mystery.
Rating: 3.5 old sports/4
 |
| Luhrmann, the real star of the film |
Along with being unfamiliar with the source material, I was also void of seeing any of Luhrmann's past films, like "Moulin Rouge!" and "Romeo + Juliet." I knew his style though, through reading critiques of his work, like how "R+J" featured modern day actors talking in the original Shakespearean language, and how in "Rouge!" he had 19th century people singing 20th century pop hits. This is the first thing I'd like to touch on about the movie: the use of modern hip-hop (mostly Jay-Z, who executive produced this film) in the film's roaring 20s backdrop...I loved it. It worked perfectly, and was an extremely bold decision to add music not all people who read the book in English class back in the day would enjoy. It was a risk that totally paid off.
Secondly, style drips off "The Great Gatsby" in typical grandeur, well, Gatsby fashion. The parties dazzle with sparkling, exotic color, with flappers and dapper gents alike getting down and feeling loose at one of Gatsby's extravagant parties that the man himself rarely attends. His status is mythical until finally he does come down from behind the curtain and strikes up conversation with out narrator Nick, who is recalling the story to us via narration, which wonderfully binds the film together perfectly.
DiCaprio hits few to no wrong notes, as Gatsby, the effervescently charming gentleman's gentleman who churns out the phrase "old sport" like he does compliments and favors to Nick, in order to get closer to his cousin Daisy, and the two eventually form a solid friendship. That's all I'll say to those who haven't read the classic, like myself, and that's all you really need to know to be intrigued by it. Mulligan is the gorgeous Daisy, the center of both her husband Tom's and Gatsby's affection. All of the actors the film has employed could easily have been 20s silent film stars, with DiCaprio's slicked back ease, Mulligan's blond hair and wide eyes, and of course, Tobey Maguire's age-defying face and those big oceans of eyes that look on curiously at Gatsby's parties and social events.Every shot of "The Great Gatsby" is ambitious whether zooming in or out on New York's ever hopeful skylines or just on the character's faces as they weave a web of confusion and deception. If you've read the book, you're familiar with the surprising escalation this admittedly a tad long film takes with its characters, but if you're like me, you'll eat up every delicious shot of scenery, partying, and general debauchery that occurs in this magnificent mystery.
Rating: 3.5 old sports/4
Comments
Post a Comment