Excruciating to watch

Rating: 3/10 (10 June 2013)

Having seen the 1974 version a couple of times and having read the novel a few times, I was perhaps primed to dislike this new version. Definitely I dislike it. For one thing, it is very noisy, with totally inappropriate music throughout. The noise, I assume, is used to make the film seem exciting. Ditto the speed of the action and the use of cuts. There isn't a moment of subtlety here. There is a phony fight inserted into the plot. There is a phony framework (Nick Carraway is in an institution, possibly for a nervous breakdown--ugh!--and his doctor talks him into writing down the story). With the exception of Jason Clarke who plays George Wilson with passion and believability, the acting totally sucks. I cannot see why anyone would be in love with Daisy (Carey Mulligan), and certainly why anyone would be obsessed with her. Leonardo Di Caprio is a big nothing—there is no clue to his internal life; the performance is all gloss. As for Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), most of the time he looks like a pleasant nitwit in an outdated comedy. I apologize for the harshness of this review--generally I only write positive reviews of movies that deserve a wider audience (see my history). However, I found it such a struggle to remain for the entire movie because it was a big bore.