Director: Baz Luhrman
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke,
Running Time: 136 minutes
Certificate: 12
There is one undeniable thing concerning THE GREAT GATSBY, it’s a Baz Luhrman film through and through. If ever there was an argument for the auteur theory, then Luhrman would be it. Everything from the music, editing, and even the performances, draws parallel with WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S ROMEO + JULIET and MOULIN ROUGE. If he can do it to the bard then surely F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel of the American dream and the empty frivolities of the upper classes, isn’t untouchable either. Waves were made when the first trailer hit and focused on the 3D aspect against a hip-hop soundtrack, but is it all glitz and glamour? Or does Luhrman also capture the darker undertones?
Luhrman’s style is very obnoxious, and not necessarily in a bad way. It slaps you around the face in a playful manor, and that’s precisely what it should do. Nick Carraway (Maguire) is seduced and astounded by the party filled life of his neighbour, Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio) and it’s easy to see why. But Luhrman isn’t interested about a faithful recreation of the 1920s. Instead, he wants today’s audience to understand what it must have felt like. Therefore his use of contemporary artists, quick edits, and bright visuals may often be anachronistic, but they are also handy tools to replicate our narrator’s frame of mind. Even dialogue scenes contain shots that last a few seconds less than average, creating a pace that symbolises being swept away into a world of debauchery.
Both Maguire and DiCaprio are stellar in their roles, not just capturing the characters and allowing their real life friendship to echo on screen, but also trying on a more classical acting style. They could easily fit into the talkies of the 40s and 50s with their clear delivery of lines and ever so slightly exaggerated facial expressions. Other characters are not explored as fairly as the leads but the actors mostly give it their all. Jason Clarke and Isla Fisher are given a criminally small amount of screen time, but Clarke especially shines in what he has to work with. Like with all adaptations there had to be sacrifices, and although Luhrman explains himself well in the introduction to the deleted scenes, Elizabeth Debicki as the pro-golfer Jordan Baker, doesn’t so much fade out, as she does just vanish almost completely. It’s a shame she wasn’t explored more as Debicki makes her performance the most memorable.
Luhrman’s interpretation was certainly meant for 3D, but it is still quite effective on DVD. Although not always convincing, it again adds to the fantastical world that Carraway enters. The soundtrack (as it’s more prevalent than any score) does become the voice of the film, with Lana Del Ray’s main theme creeping in instrumental form before the vocals encapsulate the themes of the film. THE GREAT GASTBY is both exciting and tiring, and although this perfectly resonates with the first half of the film, I just felt tired towards the end. This may have been Luhrman’s intention, to make you feel exactly like Carraway in some way, but it also means it’s harder to get involved with those final moments. Luhrman has stamped his distinctive footprint over another piece of classic literature, and although not to everyone’s liking, it will mesmerise and fascinate the majority.
THE GREAT GATSBY is available on DVD and Blu-ray on 11th November via Warner Home Video.
