The not-as-great-as-it-thinks-it-is 'Gatsby'

Rating: 3/10 (27 July 2013)

My brother and his wife wanted to watch 'the Great Gatsby' in the comfort of their own home and so I downloaded a reasonably good copy (there was the silhouette of someone's head in the bottom left-hand corner throughout and somebody else got up and left an hour or so in, but it was otherwise pretty watchable) and saw it myself. Lots of money spent, lots of CGI, a lot of quick cutting (forcing a rapid pace), and frankly old sports, I didn't give a damn. None of the characters were engaging enough to warrant serious attention for the 143 minute running time, and the result was an over-stylised (modern hip-hop on the soundtrack, Leonardo DiCaprio's glassy demeanour and bizarre accent, etc.), emotionally vacuous two-hours- plus. I just didn't buy bland, mousy Carey Mulligan as someone for whom Gatsby would risk -and ultimately lose- everything, and Tobey Maguire's 'Nick Carraway' wasn't much more than a exposition plot device. Ah well, at least we got to see it over beer and snacks instead of a crowded, expensive night out at the cinema.