Epic, glitzy bauble of an adaptation; Herculean effort well-rewarded but oversimplified for the illiterate.

Rating: Null/10 (11 May 2013)

THE GREAT GATSBY (2013) *** Leonardo Di Caprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Amitabh Bachchan. Baz Luhrmann's epic, glitzy bauble of an adaptation of F.Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel of the American Dream-gone-awry is near pitch perfect (he collaborated on the screenplay with Craig Pearce) breathing new life into a generations gone tale of The Jazz Age exposed as noble rot in the form of mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby (Di Caprio at his 'golden boy' finest) who befriends narrator, novelist wanna-be-bondsman Nick Carraway (Maguire acquitting himself as the wide-eyed git borderline gullible simp) who wants only to 'be of the moment' with the rest of the hoi polloi of Long Island and NYC - including his fragile cousin Daisy (Mulligan a bit stiff)- Gatsby's quest for love-long-lost/last - and her brutish lout of a husband, racist bully Tom (Edgerton coloring a bit of sympathy for the devil) - all at the question : Happiness yes, but at what cost? Resplendent in Art Deco at its pristine glamour and eye candy production design and splendid costumes by Catherine Martin, the one major flaw is the over-use of anachronized film score incorporating hip-hop (yawn JayZ et al; be gone!) Herculean effort well-rewarded but oversimplified for the illiterate.