Not a Great Gatsby, just a Gatsby

Rating: 3/10 (26 May 2013)

This movie was very jumbled; it was cut very frantic and incoherent, leaving the viewer confused and dizzy. The scenes and takes are sometimes so fast strung together, you don't really know what just happened. Nevertheless it feels like forever as it is stretching towards the end.
This movie is a good example where the book to movie adaption went horribly wrong. Although with a runtime of 142 min Baz Luhrmann does not manage to pass on the spirit and essence of this rather short book. The visual style of the movie is great, but seems pretentious and 'plastic', which takes away the magic of the roaring 20's. And the choice of contemporary music truly destroys the atmosphere. Songs are playing all over the whole movie, even repeating, like a radio playing in the background, distracting from the story. Characters and their relationship are portrayed dull, superficial, and not credible in their behavior and portrayal, in a way like jesters on the screen, leaving no room for empathy or comprehension from the viewer.
Overall it's a pity that this movie fails on so many levels, because it had potential, but ends up only mediocre.