The Great Gatsby

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan.
Released UK: 16th May
Released on DVD: Out Now 

Nearly 40 years since Farrow and Redford graced our screens in the 1974 film, and the rights for a new adaptation having been floating around Hollywood for years, finally one of the greatest novels has been transformed once again for a modern audience. It’s taken this long to bring a fresh, modern take on the classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, an adaptation fit for the twentieth century audience. So is it all it’s cracked up to be?

New York 1922, a time of jazz, opulence, money and beauty. However while the filthy rich splash their obscene amounts of cash on clothes, cars, champagne and parties, the poorest of the poor scrape by barley being able to eat and living in filthy conditions working their bones raw building a new city. The great depression is on the cusp, the class division has never been greater and yet, New York is one of the most desirable, decadent and intoxicating cities in the world.

Isolated away from the hustle and strains of city life is Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), an aspiring writer suffering from alcoholism, depression and anxiety. As a means to work his way through his problems Nick begins to recall his experiences in Long Island, the friendship with his playboy neighbour Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) and the tragic love affair between Gatsby and Nick’s married cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan).

It has been a while since the last attempt to bring this to the screen, which is not surprising due to the nature of the story. Considered one of the Great American novels, Gatsby is actually much more complex and difficult on screen. It’s not an easy story to bring to life, with no hero as such and all leading characters with major flaws. All previous adaptations have failed to incorporate all the elements.

The original novel is beautiful and subtle, which is why Baz Luhrmann is such a fascinating choice of director. The man who is responsible for the modern masterpieces Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet, has taken the novel and blown it out of proportion, making it bigger and wilder. Some may like this, but for others it misses the point of the story.

The sparkling array of colours and costumes, champagne, glitter and capers cannot disguise the fact that the characters are lacking in any deep sentiment and feeling. Tobey Maguire is an ideal choice for Carraway but his performance is perhaps a little too plain. Carey Mulligan looks very pretty and drifts across the screen like a Greek goddess, and yet its hard to have any real feeling for her troubles, her underlying selfishness revealed to its true form at the finale. It’s hard to see what Gatsby sees in her, why he’s so enthralled and in love.

The chemistry between the two leads is actually quite disappointing.

Leonardo DiCaprio shines here and is at his best, quite litereally glowing in some scenes, with a  glint in his eye, but even he struggles to bring any warmth to Gatsby. An already broken man, his character is greatly flawed. This may not entirely be his fault and may be down to the novels difficult depictions.

The sets and costumes do indeed look sumptuous and grand. The cinematography however is distracting. In classic Luhrmann style, the rich sets are crisp and clear, and it’s hard to believe in the story with an enormous blatantly CGI set overshadowing the scene in the background. It’s disorientating at times too. Car chases scenes are sped up to immense ferocity, and so what should be a thrilling ride for the audience, actually leaves them behind flailing to keep up. While this worked beautifully for the wacky Moulin Rouge, its not quite at home here. The supercharged scenes flash by in a blink of an eye, but when the party dies down how bothered are you about the characters?

The music is a crucial factor in Luhrmann’s world and he has left no stone unturned here. Once again choosing to focus on ‘fish out of water’ music inappropriate for the times to make it kitsch and trendy. Jay-Z was the musical producer and was given a lot of freedom here to choose his music. In some cases it works beautifully and adds to the suspense, but in others it flops and spoils the atmosphere. Alicia Keyes and Beyonce’s warbles will be liked and disliked dependent on your love of the novel and your love or not of modern music.

The 3D row will continue long after this release, but why a novel of this magnitude was chosen is puzzling. Its quite obvious in certain scenes that artistic liberties have been taken purely to enhance anything that might pop out of the screen at you. It’s forced and quite obviously so. The opening snow scene looks very pretty, as does the window sashes flowing through the wind. Did they need to be there? Or was it a trick purely added superficially.

Either way, Luhrmann’s Gatsby is indeed a wonderful spectacle, but it will divide audiences alike.  As loyal as he has been to the material, it never quite flies. It may help a younger generation discover the book, but If you’re looking for period entertainment with more depth, seek no further than TV’s hit Boardwalk Empire.

VERDICT * * *

Razzle dazzle in old New York has never been grander, but the mixture of modern music, speedy action scenes, and weak character focus results in something quite shallow; much like the characters on screen. Gatsby will charm but it will most certainly divide.

The Great Gatsby is in cinemas across the UK now, in 2D and 3D.