Genre : Drama/Romantiek Country: USA
Cast : Leonardo DiCaprio : Jay Gatsby Carey Mulligan : Daisy Buchanan Tobey Maguire : Nick Carraway
Director :
Bza Luhrmann
Summary An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Long Island-set novel, where
Midwesterner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his
neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through
the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession,
madness, and tragedy await.
My opinion Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. A long time ago every Saturday afternoon you could see an old movie on Flemish television. John
Wayne , Danny Kaye, Charlie Chaplin, Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Clint
Eastwood etc. were seen weekly in a black and white or in those faded 60’s Technicolor
color movie. Regularly
they played the old dance movies and musicals with well-known stars such as
Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Rita Hayworth , Gene Kelly, Samy Davis Jr. . and many others . All
situated in the 20's with men in tuxedos and women who float around in
expensive evening gowns and overloaded with glitzy jewelry. A
paragon of wealth and decadence which was reserved for some at that time. So
I saw a lot of them passing by on the screen while dancing the Foxtrot. My hate
and disgust for anything that smells like musical , is grown in that period. I
skip each musical or dance film purely for the fact that they always start to sing
or spontaneously start dancing for every trivial fact. Pancakes
are made and you can expect there is a serenade on this baking process. Or
there is some ordinary shopping done in a local supermarket , and before you
know it, everyone dances a waltz in between the vegetables. Pfffft , nothing
for me .
"The Great Gatsby" itself is not exactly a true musical or dance film, but the decadent parties that Gatsby is organizing are dangerously close to it. I
expected every moment an alignment of women dressed in swimsuits, extremely
precise in a row, making a jump in sequential order and with deadly precision into
Gatsby's enormous garden fountain. And
yet I didn’t like the choice of music. It didn’t really fit the whole of this
movie. The
beginning of the song by Jay Z (I thought it was him) mixed with images of New
York and the display of wealth that some people possess , I found successful. But the
music does not fit with the swirling parties afterwards . In
some way it clashed with the picture what you got in mind. And
personally I thought that the interpretation of "Back and Black" was
a blatant violation of the sublime song of Amy Whinehouse despite that Beyonce
has a beautiful voice.
I haven't seen any previous films directed by Baz Luhrmann. I
only know Moulin Rouge and i obviously haven’t seen that for the well-known
reasons that I already described above. It
took some effort to get used to that airborne camera images in the beginning,
but on the whole, his approach is sometimes grotesque. It
looked all magical and fairy-like. Several
times it had such an effect that was used in ancient times to emphasize a love
scene or some magical moments. Those hazy
and shimmering shadows around certain images. It
reminded me sometimes of the first
"Wizard of Oz" movie.The
imposing and monstrous looking mansion of Gatsby looked like it was in a direct
competition with the castle you can admire in Disneyland. So exaggerated. So
it all looks decent and is terribly perfectly portrayed. The
glamour of those days splashes of the screen, but at the same time, it all
looks so fake . The
computer animation department clearly had to do an extra effort. In
terms of costumes for the characters, this film is matchless. Ditto
for the props that can be admired throughout the film. From the
Oldsmobiles that drive around until the furniture. In one word: masterful .
Tobey Maguire I think is the biggest flaw in this movie. The
fact that he’s a person who has to get over his alcohol problem and tells his
story about Gatsby to a psychiatrist or physician, and at the same time has the
appearance of a pubescent student, makes the whole rendition of Carraway
totally unbelievable. By
the way, I still think that his acting ability is limited to the sometimes
silly staring into nothing, with such a moronic smile on his face . DiCaprio
also looks too young for his portrayal as Gatsby . In
fact you may well expect that he would have a face that shows how difficult his
live has been. But I think Leo does an excellent performance as the mysterious
and extravagant billionaire . Maybe a bit too melodramatic .
And
the phrase "Old sport" does not fit completely with him. Besides
it really started to get on my nerves after a while hearing him saying that over
and over again. A
disadvantage is that it takes a while before he comes into the picture and then
Maguire needs to carry the complete movie. And that failed miserably . For
me, Joel Edgerton , who played Tom Buchanan, was the best actor in this film . The
bravado and arrogance that he displayed was beautiful to watch.
I don't think I've ever read Fitzgerald's book. The content is
actually a plain simple love story . The
run-up to the meeting with Gatsby, I liked the most in this movie when Maguire moves
into the small house overshadowed by the immense castle of the mysterious
Gatsby. Once
this is over , it's really only a dull and ordinary love story and Maguire is relegated
to a pathetic spectator of the flirting between Gatsby and Dais.
Actually I expected more from "The Great Gatsby". It’s
is a damn long, boring and sad movie. I had problems keeping my
eyes open. Nothing
much happens in it. And if you’re planning to have a fun time watching a happy
movie, you better look further.
Genre : Drama/Romantiek
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