Anyway, these are my initial, jumbled musings (movie ended at 11pm, it's almost midnight now). Of course, spoilers below!
Overall: Better than I expected. After the release date got pushed back so much, I was fairly sure it wasn't gonna be too good. And I didn't read any reviews, but I did see that some critics I respect gave it pretty low star ratings. But overall, I think I can say that I liked this version. And it was surprisingly true to the book.
Parts I liked:
- The green light. I loved how the movie started and ended with the green light, representing that central hope and longing that Gatsby feels.
- The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. I thought the movie's visual representation of the sign was really great; much better than the sign I'd been imagining when the read the book!
- The valley of ashes. This was another image that I couldn't quite figure out when I read the book; I liked the way the movie brought it to life.
- Jordan Baker. The casting and character of Jordan Baker was pretty much spot-on.
- Jay Gatsby. Yup, pretty sure Leonardo DiCaprio nailed the role. I thought he was too old for the role at first, since DiCaprio's in his late 30s and Gatsby is supposed to be 32. But that wasn't so much of an issue for me during the film. I just wish they hadn't written the script so that he screams at Tom Buchanan in the final showdown between them; that doesn't happen in the book, and I don't think it fits his character.
- I think my favorite scene was when Nick arranges for Daisy and Gatsby to meet at his house. Some of the best (and only) comedy in the movie.
Parts I didn't like:
- Gatsby's parties. I was probably most excited to see how the film portrayed his parties, and I really wish the party scenes had been more true to the book. I get that Luhrmann's thing is going over the top, but it bothered me to have the parties become essentially a wild frat party (with modern music, too).
- Daisy. I LOVE Carey Mulligan, but I'm not sure if she was the best person for this character. First of all, I don't think she's so easy to believe as this magnetic, attractive personality. Second, she seems a little too young for the role. I'm not sure how old Daisy is supposed to be, but isn't it supposed to be around Nick's age (29 or 30)?
- The MUSIC. Ugh the music was so distracting. I did not like it. Even the more classic choices, such as "Rhapsody in Blue" during the fireworks scene, just made it seem like Baz Luhrmann was ripping off Woody Allen from Manhattan, taking me even more out of the movie. The only song that I thought remotely worked was Lana Del Rey's song "Young and Beautiful." I'm not really sure why it worked for me. Maybe because it was slightly more subtle than the rap music.
- The flashback setup. I got tired of being yanked out of the story to hear Nick whine to his doctor. That wasn't in the book; why did they decide to add it to the movie?
OK, I think my tired crankiness is creeping into my review. Time to stop here. As you can see, I have thoughts about this movie, which probably means it's at least above average quality, right? Yes, we'll leave it at that. Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby: Above-average quality.
P.S. I now want to go back and re-watch Robert Redford's version of the book. It won a few Oscars. I'd like to see how it stacks up.
3 comments:
ohhh i LOVED the music. well, i loved listening to the soundtrack on repeat before i saw the movie, which might have been a mistake because then i was expecting all of it when i saw the movie. haha. anyway, i thought it was a good juxtaposition.
i still don't know how i feel about the movie. (i also hated the flashback setup—but that is classic baz so i'm not surprised. in fact, the whole thing was a recreation of both r&j and moulin rouge, so none of the movie surprised me at all, which maybe is my main complaint. it was TOO baz-y.) i think i'm far too familiar with all of the symbolism from the book, so it all felt a little heavy handed in the movie. robbie, who isn't as familiar with the book, really loved it so i think i was just too familiar with it.
i also loved jordan, and i loved how i DESPISED gatsby and daisy by the end, which you're supposed to i guess. haha. it was just so easy to see how ridiculous they both are when they were in such a stylized context, if that makes sense.
and i'm glad you mentioned the scene where gatsby blows up at tom, because as it was happening i was like, i'm pretty sure this never happened, but maybe my memory is foggy??
If you like the book, then I might recommend seeing it just to see how it holds up as a film. Good review Kate.
I agree, good review! We finally just saw the film, after the middling reviews it's gotten stateside. And like you, were pleasantly surprised. I actually didn't mind the party scenes that much, because I think it's the best way to convey a wild party to today's audiences. If you search on YouTube for the party scenes in the 1926 silent film, it looks tame and boring. Haha
On a side note, I read the book a long time ago, and I think back in my young California mind, the valley of ashes looked like a California highway. So wrong. haha
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