The Great Gatsby... not SO great?

Rating: 8/10 (22 May 2013)

Since I have seen both favorable and unfavorable reviews of the most expected movie of the year, I decided to write one myself showing the goods and the bads of the film - at least the way I see them.
1. The acting
What I liked: JOEL EDGERTON! His portrayal of Tom Buchanan is close to perfection. Carey Mulligan's performance was pretty good too. She managed to encapsulate Daisy's character in a very pleasant manner, despite her lousy lines (not her fault). Isla Fisher did pretty well too. The biggest surprise was new-comer Elizabeth Debicki, who did an astonishing job!
What I didn't like: The boys - both Leo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. None of them were awful (Tobey got really close to that, though), nor were they good. They both gave mediocre performances. Maguire just can't play sadness, anger or other negative feelings, and I didn't find his voice suitable for a narrator's. As for Leo DiCaprio, I am SICK of seeing him die (especially in water!!!). Also, the "old sport" was supposed to be natural, as Gatsby had been using the appellative for ages - I don't know whether it was the actor's or the script writer's fault, but many of the times it sounded forced and false.
2. The directing
What I liked: Baz Luhrmann's years in theatre are obvious when it comes to attention to detail. This movie is almost like a painting - a very beautiful one. Beautiful costumes, beautiful sets, beautiful parties and beautiful portrayal of events, all accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack which I will review in no. 3.
What I didn't like: While the movie is very pleasant to look at, it lacks essence. It tries to stick to the book too hard. I usually like this, and I would have liked it now too if it hadn't lost the main points of the story in the process. The Great Gatsby - the book - is about America itself. The Great Gatsby - the movie - is about nothing but a bunch of filthy rich people having fun, in a very wrong way.
3. The music
What I liked: That the score was original - and the songs were wow. Lana del Rey's Young and Beautiful, Florence and the Machine's Over the Love and The XX's Together were my personal favourite ones. The score alone is breathtaking.
What I didn't like: First of all, some songs - most of them, actually - had nothing to do with the scene they accompanied. The most obvious and annoying one was Kanye West and Jay Z's Who Gon Stop Me when Nick got drunk with Tom. Like, seriously, guys? We're in the 20s, for God's sake! This leads me to the second point - the score has a waaaaaaay too modern sound for 'The Roaring Twenties'. And the ones that try to sound like jazz/charleston fail their main purpose, thus the final result being rather kitsch.
4. The script
What I liked: It sticked to the book. It really did. And if reading it is pure magic, imagine seeing it brought to life.
What I didn't like: Just as I mentioned in the 'acting' section, they exaggerated a bit with the "old sport". Maybe it's just me, but if in the book it doesn't bother, hearing it so many times on screen sounds forced - big time.
I guess the world still hasn't got a movie adaptation worthy of the breathtaking story written by the amazing Fitzgerald - I guess it never will. To be honest, I never really expected much of this movie and that's why I can't exactly call it a disappointment. When you go to see a movie adaptation of America's greatest novel yet, you expect it to be just as great or even greater - that's downright impossible. Have all the best directors of this world (oh, Luhrmann is not one of them) together and they still won't reach everybody's expectations. I can say that the movie fulfilled - even exceeded! - mine, so I guess it did its job. But I'm still waiting for a better one :).