An Event worth experiencing

Rating: 8/10 (17 May 2013)

In the roaring 20s, Nick Carraway moves into a small rented Long Island house, across the Sound from his cousin Daisy and her wealthy husband Tom. Nick's house is next to a mansion where the mysterious and somewhat reclusive Gatsby hosts massive parties. Nick gets drawn into the lives of these three people and finds that there are secrets to keep.
As a Brit, The Great Gatsby is not on our school reading lists, and the Redford film version had never appealed, so I came to this with only the vaguest idea of what it was about. Despite the running time (nearly two and a half hours) I was absorbed throughout: I will mention nothing about the events of the story in case anyone reading this is also in ignorance.
Which leaves talking about the film itself. Well, the performances are fine, although poor Tobey Maguire loses out somewhat - as narrator and observer he is on screen throughout the movie, but Nick is a thankless part, being necessarily neutral and colourless until towards the end.
The production design is very good, and it wouldn't take you long to work out that this is a Baz Luhrman film if you didn't already know. I sometimes think that "Luhrman" should have been "Lurid", his visuals are so vivid and in-your-face. Which is not to say that the visuals aren't effective, because they are, but I'm not sure that the air of camp which they lend is entirely fitting to the story. Maybe, maybe not.
Oh, and see it in 3D - Luhrman is one of only a handful of directors who, on the basis of this, understands how to use 3D as an artistic tool.