The saying goes, 'a good book makes for a terrible movie', if
the reviews of Baz Luhrmann's 'The Great Gatsby' are anything to be go by, then
this old adage would appear to be true. F Scott Fitzgerald’s original book is
considered a literary classic, a fact that Americans in particular feel very
strongly about and in essence it is a tale of the American Dream, with Gatsby
himself representing the prototype of a self made American man.
The problem faced with adapting a novel of this stature, in this
day and age, is that you need to appeal to fans of the books whilst attracting
a contemporary audience who may have no prior knowledge of the novel. Having
read the book (admittedly not for a while) I think that Baz Luhrmann has done a
terrific job and stayed true to the original with only a few minor changes. The
key thing to bear in mind is that this is an ADAPTATION, and as an audience we
should expect changes. What Luhrmann has done is stick to the original novel
whilst appealing to the modern audience and retaining is signature style of
over the top opulence.
Luhrmann's use of 3D is one thing that has been heavily
criticised, however it is exactly this that makes the movie, in my opinion, as
good as it is. Let's not forget that the story is set in what Fitzgerald called
'The Jazz Age', and the use of 3d only served to highlight this fact,
everything shone as bright on the screen as Fitzgerald wanted us to imagine it.
In addition, the OTT nature of the movie highlighted for us just how grim the
Valley of the Ashes is in contrast to the rest of the locations featured.
Furthermore the score, produced by Jay-Z, complimented the movie
in a number of ways. The rap artists 'No Church in the Wild' featured in the
television trailers, I had been begging friends to see this with me for weeks
and most of them said no. This track gained their attention and made many of
them see that this might actually be a movie worth watching. Had the score been
compiled from a number of tracks from that era, then the appeal to a modern
audience might have somewhat been diminished.
Next there was the casting, I don't think that anyone can
disagree that Leonardo DiCaprio was the perfect choice for the titular role. He
was the perfect embodiment of the Gatsby in the novel. I found that his late
introduction in the movie (even though we all knew it was him) set a mode of
anticipation so grand that you could feel the audience on the edge of their
seats waiting to see him. The fact that he introduced himself amidst fireworks
only reinforced just how great Gatsby really was. DiCaprio's acting was great
and his erratic behaviour perfectly portrayed the characters obsession with
Daisy. Daisy (portrayed by Carey Mulligan) was one of the two characters I was
unsure about. Personally I didn't feel as if she was a character that was
worthy of Gatsby's obsession in this movie, and her vulnerability only made it
harder to believe that she would so callously leave town after the main events
had transpired.
Toby Maguire's portrayal was another I had issue with. I felt
that this portrayal was weak and I found him somewhat unbelievable as someone
suffering with fits of rage and alcoholism as outlined in the beginning of the
movie (Despite the issue of age, I imagine Josh Brolin would have played a
great Nick). I did however find it interesting how they made this character
into someone who was writing a book as a form of therapy, and his character was
perhaps made into a composite of the Carraway in the novel and of Fitzgerald
who, in real life, suffered from these ailments.
My favourite actor in this movie had to be Jordan Baker, played
by Elizabeth Debicki. Whilst her character differed in the movie in that there
was no romantic link between her and Nick Carraway, I found her acting to be a
delight to watch. Her tall waif figure moved so ethereally and she held the
audience’s attention without really trying. I can’t help thinking that perhaps
she would have in fact been the better actress to play Daisy.
All in all, I think the movie was a 9/10. Luhrmann did exactly
what he did best, as did DiCaprio. As an adaptation critics will always find
fault with a movie of this kind. If we enter the movie with all our
preconceived ideas at the door, and separate the book from the movie, then this
truly is an Oscar worthy picture.
