Surfeit of everything, but deep respect for Fitzgerald

Rating: 7/10 (9 August 2013)

The following is unlike my usual reviews for IMDb and other Internet movie sites, but the comments that I emailed to a friend right after watching Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby":
"Dear M-----,"
I just got back from watching "The Great Gatsby" tonight. The excessive, exhibitionist style tendencies of director Baz Luhrmann that I had feared were plainly evident. Surfeit of everything: flowers, decor, set details, but fortunately often gorgeous. Rap hip-hop party music in the 1920s? Please, that's the sound of today's disco clubs, exactly.
But Luhrman's deep respect for a dead man more than saved him and made the movie one of the best I've seen in the past two years. That man is of course F. Scott Fitzgerald. So respectful that the literary great's texts at times float dreamily on the screen.
Luhrmann co-wrote the screenplay, which delivered the spirit of the novel despite the over-the-top production. The "be impressed!" sets and overall design, and the re-imagining of New York in the 1920s were certainly impressive and sure credentials for Oscars.
The Aussie director's another weakness: the actors. Nobody connects emotionally to anybody in this movie, except perhaps Tobey Macguire as narrator Nick Carraway, who sensitively connects to us. It was painful to watch fidgety Leonardo di Caprio in the first half needing the right cues and clues for acting. And whoever tailored his unflattering suits should be sent to .....
Carey Mulligan's assumed persona is too strong for the part. Wanted: another Mia Farrow out-daisying the delicate Daisy Buchanan. (Did you notice that Mulligan does a dual role as one of the whorehouse girls?)
Cesar"