Flawed Start, Beautiful Second Half

Rating: Null/10 (15 May 2013)

The Great Gatsby (2013)
*** (out of 4)
Baz Luhrmann's updating of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel doesn't needs its plot explained but I must admit that I've never quite experienced a film like it. I say this because I watch a lot of movies and most of them are either great, good, fair or poor. The strange thing about this movie is that the first hour is downright bad but like a miracle the second half is pretty much a masterpiece. I've never witnessed a film that managed to do such great things after getting off to a bad start. With Luhrmann you know that he's going to bring his own vision to the screen and for the first hour this style, fashion and glamor pretty much take over the story so much so that you really can't see any of the classic novel there. It seems that Luhrmann's main goal is to show off this CGI New York of the 1920s and the various ways that he can shoot a party sequence. I found these things to be rather boring and over-the-top to the point where there wasn't a need in called this The Great Gatsby as they pretty much could have just made a separate film about the Jazz Era. Even stranger is that I didn't care for Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire or Carey Mulligan during these early scenes. The only actor who can survive the crazy style was Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan.
Then, the really strange thing happened. When Daisy (Mulligan) is invited over for tea and has her encounter with Gatsby (DiCaprio) it's a rather magnificent scene full of romance, drama, tension and a bittersweet laugh. From this point on the film settles down with the style and turns to telling its story and this is where the greatness shines. Whereas the actors were buried in the style and CGI of the first half, now they're able to really show their talents and each of the four main ones fit into their roles perfectly. DiCaprio is wonderful as Gatsby as he just has a certain look in his eye that manages to show off the character's rage and passion at all times. Maguire looks really bad in the first half because of non-stop stupid facial gestures that the director makes him do but once he can "act" he does a great job. Mulligan perfectly captures the spirit and look of the 1920s Jazz period and I thought she fit the role just fine. Edgerton is the real standout and does a masterful job with his role. The music score, the much hyped music score, isn't nearly as distracting as one thought it would be but it doesn't mix well with the over-the-top style.
If you walked into this version an hour late you'd walk out feeling as if you've seen one of the best movies of the year. The second half of the picture really grabs you up in the terrific acting and the wonderful story and there's no question that the passion and haunted jealously of the characters really come to life. The final sequence inside the hotel room where all hell breaks loose is something truly thrilling to watch. With that said, you still have to wonder why Buhrmann would slow things down during the second half. For the life of me I can't understand why he ruined the first half with the non-stop style only to end it and let the story do its power. The final 80-minutes of the picture are excellent and would be Best Picture material but you still can't overlook or forget the flawed beginning.