Luhrmann's 'Gatsby' may seem gaudy at first, but overall, it works

Rating: 8/10 (12 May 2013)

Baz Luhrmann's 2013 'The Great Gatsby' is the first adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece that I've seen. Apparently, Hollywood has a poor track record with this novel. After five attempts that, according to some critics, would be better left forgotten, this one is a huge success in some respects.
First of all, one can't see a Baz Luhrmann film and not expect an abundance of arresting visuals. 'The Great Gatsby' is a great example of it. The mansions and parties poetically described by Fitzgerald in the source material look just as good as I imagined them when reading the book.
Secondly, Leonardo DiCaprio's performance is stellar, as usual. Maybe the Academy Awards will choose to reconsider their ridiculous grudge against him and at least nominate him this year. At first, it seemed like DiCaprio as Gatsby was a slight miscasting, although it didn't turn out that way. DiCaprio was able to capture the vulnerability of Jay Gatsby greatly.
Now, the reason why I think that the critics weren't so enthusiastic about this film adaptation: because it simply isn't as profound. When Fitzgerald wrote the source novel and published it in 1925, he had written a poetic, cerebral masterpiece (I've read the book). It wasn't a love story so much as a statement about the Roaring Twenties and the bourgeoisie during that time period. The one problem with this film (besides some of the scenes being a little gaudy) is that it doesn't really seem to make that "statement." It's much more emotional than intellectual. I'm not saying it's Hollywoodized dumbed-down entertainment for the masses, but at the same time, it indeed seems to sometimes lack that evocation of the time period and its morals that Fitzgerald succeeded at.
In other words, it's everything I expected in a Baz Luhrmann 'Gatsby': while it may not show the same intellect that its source material does, it's entertaining, well-acted, and contains amazing visuals that ultimately make it a great movie.