A dazzling and depressing tale

Rating: 9/10 (14 May 2013)

"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is considered one of the best American novels of all time. Its themes of love, loss, obsession, friendship, greed and social status has made it a timeless classic, but the previous film adaptations have all been considered poor attempts at capturing the complexity of the novel. Baz Luhrmann's new version has also received its fair share of criticism, but in my opinion almost all of the complaints are unwarranted. Because this movie is nothing short of a masterpiece.
The movie tells the story of how Nick Carraway gets acquainted with his neighbor in West Egg, Long Island; the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby. Opposite the bay lives Nick's socialite cousin Daisy Buchanan with her husband Tom. Soon Nick finds out that Gatsby and Daisy used to know each other when they were younger, and that their relationship is far from over.
The first half of the movie is a bit duller than the second and makes the movie seem shallower than it really is. Many of the criticisms the movie has gotten has been that the director has prioritized style over substance. But while the movie indeed is beautiful (more on that later) it is also complex and emotional, and from when the movie picks up (I'd say this is when Gatsby and Daisy first meet at Nick's tea party) and onwards it's a near-perfect film. Stand-out scenes include the tour of Gatsby's house, the flashbacks to his youth, the confrontation between him and Tom in New York and the final pool scene.
No other actor could have portrayed the elusive Jay Gatsby as well as Leonardo DiCaprio. Every single one of his personality traits, from the romantic idealism to the self-doubt, is apparent in his amazing but subtle performance. He is the core of the movie and all scenes without him feel lacking. Carey Mulligan's daisy is a more complicated performance to judge. On one hand she truly is lovely and the audience immediately sees why Gatsby is in love with her. But at the end of the day Daisy is such an unlikeable character that not even Mulligan's natural likability can make the audience sympathize with her. Joel Edgerton as her husband is, on the other hand, pure perfection. His menacing but nuanced portrayal of Tom is second only to DiCaprio in terms of skill. The worst casting in the film is Tobey Maguire as the narrator Nick. He is wooden, uninteresting and has no chemistry with Elizabeth Debicki(who plays his love interest Jordan). Only in scenes with Gatsby is Nick an even vaguely interesting character, and this is undoubtedly due to the fact that DiCaprio is strong enough to carry both of them.
Ever since I read the novel I have been aware of the depressing message that the story conveys. But while both the novel and the 70's film version are sad, they aren't even half as heart-breaking as this movie. Many will relate to the story of Gatsby, a man desperate to" fix things just the way they were" and realize with him that it just isn't possible. It's a gloomy realization but a good one nevertheless. Yong people especially will benefit from understanding that no matter how hard you work for something there is no guarantee that you will get it. But all of the messages in the story aren't depressing. One can also relate to the "extraordinary sense of hope" that Nick describes Gatsby as having and see him as an inspiration to never give up.
Visually the movie is impressive. The costumes, sets and special effects are dazzling, and since the soundtrack is modernized it was a smart move by Luhrmann and production/costume designer Catherine Martin to keep the rest of the film period-accurate. The 3D-effects however are pretty but forgettable and add nothing to the movie. Just like everybody else I was skeptical when I heard that Luhrmann had hired Jay-Z to helm the soundtrack and meant to include hip-hop and rap music. My suspicions turned out to be completely unnecessary. The modern music works very well (especially during the party scenes) and doesn't even include many hip-hop tracks. Variations of Lana del Rey's "Young and Beautiful" is used as a "love theme" for Gatsby and Daisy and I wouldn't be surprised if the stunning track get an Oscar nomination for "Best Original Song". The soundtrack is actually one of the main reasons that the movie feels current and inspiring in contrast to the at times dated novel.
So no matter what critics have said I think "the Great Gatsby" is an amazing film. It tells the interesting and important story just as well as the novel, but Luhrmann has added even more glamour and excitement with his visually creative choices. That makes it not only a satisfactory adaptation of the classic novel but a completely fantastic film. Beautiful, emotional, well-acted, unique and thought-provoking it truly is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen.