Flawed, but visually stunning interpretation of the classic masterpiece with great soundtrack

Rating: 7/10 (16 June 2013)

On the outside the 2013 adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" looks like a beautifully crafted exclusive jewelry box. The quality of the content, however, is not consistent with that of the exterior: inside the box is not a tiny priceless natural diamond, but a huge, tasteless, cheaply- looking cubic zirconia.
That does not mean, however, that Luhrmann's latest movie is not a pleasure to watch. I would even venture to say that "The Great Gatsby" can be considered a must see movie, mostly because of its lavish, visually stunning cinematography, if not because of the poor interpretation of the classic story, the interpretation that lacks both depth and substance.
Indeed, "The Great Gatsby" is visually breathtaking in almost literal sense. There are many moments in the movie that make you hold your breath and leave you utterly overwhelmed by the piercing richness of the miraculously powerful visual feast.
"The Great Gatsby" features quite impressive camera work. In some scenes it almost feels like the camera somehow gets attached to your heart and cleverly tricks it into beating faster - with excitement or in anticipation.
Another strong suit of the movie is its amazing soundtrack (Craig Armstrong) that masterfully, with the remarkable precision captures the twists and turns of the novel's delicate mood. While some people were not impressed with the hip hop mix of the original soundtrack, I found it to be in the surprising harmony with both the distinguished literary source and the visual magnificence of its 2013 cinematic adaptation.
Unfortunately, Baz Luhrmann's vision, so delightfully original in regards with the exterior details, suffers a noticeable setback when it has to deal with more serious matters, like the delicate substance of the novel, with all its depth and complexity.
That is precisely the area where the 2013 adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" lets us down, suffering from all kinds of issues: the misunderstood and misinterpreted main characters, the poor character development in general, the dragging story sprinkled with wrong accents, the added unnecessary scenes that are not in the novel, and finally the missing important scenes that actually are in the novel.
Being excessively focused on the love triangle between Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, and Daisy Buchanan, the 2013 adaptation fails to give proper attention to the several strategically important plot lines, including the relationship between Nick Carraway and Daisy's close friend (and pathological liar) Jordan Baker (Elizabeth Debicki) or the failed marriage of George and Myrtle Wilson (Isla Fisher).
In addition, the movie falls into a trap of excessively romanticizing Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan and thus misrepresenting their complex relationship by portraying it as a formulaic tragic love story.
It essentially tells us a tear-jerking story about a pair of cute lovebirds who naively dream of impossible only to be tragically separated by the cruel fate. A high human tragedy from the novel has been reduced to a vulgar love tragedy in the movie.
There is also a certain disconnect between the narrative that strongly hints at all the Gatsby's illegal activities, unscrupulous business dealings, and shady connections and the inspired sugary image that we see on the screen.
Charmingly passionate and overly sensitive, Romeo-like Leonardo DiCaprio's Gatsby from the 2013 movie in no way looks like a shrewd trusted associate of sleazy Meyer Wolfsheim and a prominent member of his notorious gang.
This inability to create a believable character seems to be caused more by the Baz Luhrmann's faulty vision than by the DiCaprio's acting, which was generally acceptable.
The same is true for Carey Mulligan whose simplistic, one-dimensional Daisy Buchanan seemed to be more a failed director's concept than a failed acting project.
While both the 1974 movie and the 2013 movie portray Daisy Buchanan as a delicate flower, in the 1974 interpretation the magnificent Mia Farrow is quick to expose these peculiar, barely hidden thorns, the dangerously poisonous thorns that quite naturally pierce poor Gatsby's heart and lead to his inevitable demise.
The 2013 version, on the other hand, misses the opportunity to shatter the silly romantic heroine image until it becomes too late. As the movie fails to properly introduce Daisy's dark side in a timely manner, the transition from the sweet little honey to the strikingly shallow, uncaring, selfish person, a person who "smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into 'her' money or 'her' vast carelessness" loses most of its punch and credibility.
With the main characters in the Baz Luhrmann's movie being not that impressive, the supporting cast does better overall, although not without some regrettable blunders.
One of the biggest disappointments was an absolute miscasting that completely ruined one of the characters, so intriguing in the novel. Amitabh Bachchan was way off target in his performance, and generally did not seem to be a good choice for the role of Meyer Wolfsheim. Whatever Mr. Bachchan was portraying in the movie hardly bore any resemblance to the notorious character who first "fixed" the World's Series in 1919 and then came up with that neat little idea of opening numerous drug stores that were very busy selling some useful "prescription drugs" during the Prohibition years.
Joel Edgerton, on the other hand, turned out to be a great Tom Buchanan. I have yet to find a single moment in the movie where Mr. Edgerton's refined performance was even slightly off base.
Another solid acting work in "The Great Gatsby" unexpectedly came from Tobey Maguire whose nuanced performance as Nick Carraway was a pleasant surprise indeed. By creating such memorable character Mr. Maguire proved that he is capable of something more than being a shabby Spider-Man from the primitive superhero franchise for teenagers.
In conclusion, despite the movie's serious flaws, I would still recommend watching "The Great Gatsby", mostly because of its fantastic exterior that deserves to be seen, enjoyed, and appreciated, major shortcomings above notwithstanding.
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