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As you’ve surely heard, Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby” is more grand than great, a no-holds-barred spectacle that pumps up the sparkling volume of the 1920s, but doesn’t seem to grasp the thematic richness of its source material.
A once-great maestro of razzle-dazzle, Luhrmann revamped Shakespeare with “Romeo + Juliet,” and merged pop standards with French decadence for the fab “Moulin Rouge!,” but his taste level has greatly dwindled, and here, we see his penchant for stylized overkill suffocate (what’s arguably) one of the greatest stories ever told.
Granted, it’s bad practice to get hung up on the faithfulness of a film adaptation of a great work, as different mediums call for different techniques, and something as enduring as “Gatsby” certainly warrants a bold reimagining. So, let’s hold back on knocking the changes assigned to Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), who now narrates the tale from an asylum and eventually sees his written memoirs become F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. But, did Luhrmann’s approach need to be so superficial and bombastic? In making Jay Gatsby’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) memorable bashes his jumping-off point, the director loses the story’s weight amid all the confetti, champagne and crazed cinematography.
Aside from Maguire, who’s too earnest to play a character who needs some firm gravity, Luhrmann does cast the film exquisitely. DiCaprio achingly captures all the hope, delusions, and mythos of the enigmatic host, and Carey Mulligan seems to intimately know the ins and outs of Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby’s highbrow dream girl for whom he built his entire Long Island empire. (Additionally, Joel Edgerton, as Tom Buchanan, and newcomer Elizabeth Debicki, as Daisy’s bestie Jordan Baker, are both extraordinary).
But the virtues of “The Great Gatsby” are disappointingly few, as Luhrmann rarely gives the viewer the chance to swallow what’s being served, flooding the screen with formal overload that’s near-impossible to appreciate. Flying down CG streets, breathlessly zooming toward people and buildings, and forcing an overcooked color palette like spilled paint, the filmmaker ultimately squanders all the fine tools at his disposal, from actors to timeless, priceless prose.
The Great Gatsby
PG-13
Two reels out of four
Now playing at area theaters
Recommended Rental
Side Effects
R
Available Tuesday
Reportedly the final theatrical film from Steven Soderbergh, “Side Effects” is a tight, little thriller that takes aim at Big Pharma, telling the tale of a depressed young wife (Rooney Mara) who commits an unspeakable act, then launches an investigation that may pinpoint her medication as the true culprit. Tense and provocative, but overdone in parts (like a subplot involving Catherine Zeta-Jones), the movie furthers Soderbergh’s knack for experimentation, and also stars Jude Law and Channing Tatum.
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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