Hollow, But Fancy Enough For The Eyes.

Rating: 6/10 (15 May 2013)

Nick Carraway moves next to an eccentric millionaire, Mr. Jay Gatsby, who throws lavish parties every single night. One night he receives an invitation to the party, the only invitation Gatsby has ever given to anyone to attend his gathering. Who is this Mr. Gatsby, why does he throw lavish parties every night and what are his real intentions?
I read the book in preparation for this film, something I rarely do. I was left underwhelmed by the book and overexposed by the film. While the Baz Luhrmann does stay faithful to the words on the page, the overall tone and feel of the picture seems to be in the wrong place. When the truth about the book is about the falseness of these rich people and their empty lives while using the pedestal of a love story to get through it, Luhrmann seems more interested, or maybe the studio was, at making the love story front and centre, almost ignoring the more interesting aspects of the tale. What is left is an hollow film, that is fancy for the eyes and not much more.
I chose to see the in 2D and judging by what I saw, I don't think I would have missed the confetti and floating typewriter words coming at me very much. Luhrmann's films always look like the prettiest girl at the ball. Gatsby is probably the prettiest of them all and with good reason too. Those parties Gatsby throws is wonderful, full of energy, vibrant colours and dance numbers. It's at one of these parties that we are introduced to Gatsby, in one of the most over the top and perfect character introductions I've seen on film. DiCaprio captures the essence of Gatsby, a lonely insecure man who hides behind his riches and puts on this mysterious front. He looks the part, acts the part and is one of the highlights of the picture. No one else seems to be on the same page as him though.
Joel Edgerton is Tom Buchanan, a brutish fellow who is having an affair. Edgerton chomps on his cigars, kisses his woman and loves to poke the fire when it is hot. His wife, Daisy, played by the timid as a mouse Carey Mulligan is the picturesque woman that Gatsby is pining for. She doesn't seem to have a real identity. She is torn between two men, but nothing else of her character wants to come though. Her cousin, Nick Carraway is played by Peter Parker himself, Tobey Maguire. Much like the book, he is give nothing to do but walk around in the background with a drink in his hand. Maguire takes this thankless role and adds no flare, no emotion, no sense of tragedy to it. Aside from Pleasantville, I've yet to see a good Tobey Maguire performance.
The story is a tragic one and even if Luhrmann didn't want to focus on the rich and famous and just centre on this love story, he should have added more stakes into it. Character with little to no screen time early on in the film, play major roles later on. It's an odd balance, made even odder by the Luhrmann flare he puts in it. The film feels like Moulin Rouge, with the over exaggerated expressions and acting from the background characters. The choice of modern music in an old time era, Luhrmann even uses the same plot device with a man telling the story at a typewriter.
But like I said, the film look gorgeous, sounds great and is very eccentric, much like the characters that inhabit this story. This is probably the closest adaptation of The Great Gatsby we'll get, even if it didn't get it right.