Review of The Great Gatsby (2013) by Samichsupernova — 09 May 2013

As a huge fan of DiCaprio, Mulligan, Fitzgerald and Lurhmann, I went in with pretty high expectations. Sure enough, the acting, direction and script are top-notch, if a little too faithful to the source material in letter, while being wildly all over the place in tone, leading to a bloated, overlong production.

That said, I'd rather take something ambitious over the safe treatment any day: within these 2 1/2 hours, there are moments of incredible power, and the excesses of the time period are well demonstrated through the wicked party scenes. .

Gatsby's parties are the highlight recalling modern mega-raves or top-notch Vegas clubs with the energy amped to 11, their bombast and spectacle threaten to overwhelm the rest of the film. If only Luhrmann could find a way to ensure that his film's visual dynamism didn't go head-to-head with anything that might be considered subtle... the director's over-abundant style robs the film of is realism: it takes place in a world that's decorated, lit, and shot as if it were an ethereal realm somehow divorced from the everyday, and like its titular character, the film does go above and beyond what's needed to impress. .

Therein lies the film's biggest problem: the weight of Gatsby's ambitions and the non-stop eye-popping visuals coupled with lightning fast editing takes a toll on the flow of the story. For most of the film, Luhrmann doesn't let his scenes attain an organic flow of their own. His camera swivels through the air as if more interested in the set decoration than his own stars, and the edits rarely slow down even during the most intimate sequences.

Still, the performances are great all across the board. DiCaprio is far and away the standout, Maguire's Carroway is thankfully subtle (although his voice overs get to be a bit much), Carey Mulligan (my waifu) brings a real heart and soul to an underwritten and unlikeable Daisy (an unfortunate result of the film following its source material too slavishly), and Joel Edgerton makes a great Tom Buchanan. Perhaps it's telling of the strength of the source material and cast that the human element shines through despite Luhrmann's excesses.