Review of The Great Gatsby (2013) by Sreedhar K — 07 Nov 2014

Watched 'The Great Gatsby' as someone who enjoys a love-hate relationship with Baz Luhrmann's work (Gave up on Romeo & Juliet half way thru, loved Moulin Rouge, and hated Australia inspite of Nicole Kidman :-)).

As feared, the subject matter of F Scott Fitzgerald's magnum opus goes only so deep in this frenetic spectacle of an adaptation. But, it is Baz, and we know he'd rather be busy with the sets than with the script. So, here he goes, yet again, much like what Sanjay Leela Bhansali of Bollywood did with the classic 'Devdas', minus the music in this case, looking for every excuse to render (rather nicely so howver, in crisp and bright 3D detail) the NYC of the 1920s, mansions by the lake, flashy vintage cars, splashing of champagne, throwing of confetti, and so on.

In the bargain, unmistakably, what we lose is the appreciation for the complex characterization that the novel is so revered for - such as Jay the outwardly flamboyant bootlegger of a millionaire who also happens to be a hopeless romantic, and Daisy the flapper and the beloved. But, Nick is perhaps an exception, through whose vantage point we do still see more than what the camera has to show and we do hear Fitzgerald's commentary on people and values.

The acting overall is quite sincere, although, and purely from a casting standpoint, there are some serious missteps. DiCaprio, even at his best, doesn't quite look the part in terms of exuding the aura needed for Gatsby, where as Carey looks more innocent than she should, while Maguire looks a bit too effeminate many times, and 'the great Bachchan' doesn't make Bollywood proud in the minuscule and shady role of Meyer Wolfshiem the Jewish friend of Gatsby.

Definitely worth watching to admire Luhrmann's penchant for visualization, but not for how the Australian director honors a great work of American literature.