Great
stories are universal. When you read one you always believe it will translate
over any medium. Even with so much material out there, it shouldn't be a
surprise that the legendary writers get so many variations if their stories
told. The era may change, or maybe even the sex of the main character, but the
original story is still intact. One of the great American writers is F. Scott
Fitzgerald, who wrote what many consider one of the great American novels. “The
Great Gatsby” has been told on film before, but never like this.
The time
is 1922, New York and the stock market is booming. With the boom comes new
wealth and the roaring twenties is born. Nick Carraway (Toby Maguire) had come
to New York to be a part of that world, and takes residency in the village of
West Egg in a small cottage, next to the manors of the newly wealthy. Nick is
not alone; it seems his cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) lives in nearby Long
Island, with her rich husband Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Tom comes from “old
money” and looks down at all these newcomers to the club. Nick soon finds out
he lives next to a mythical man named Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) who no one
seems to know who he really is. What they do know is that Gatsby loves to throw
parties, although his guests never see him. Nick soon though meets Gatsby and
the two get along well. Gatsby takes Nick on the town and introduces him to all
the important people of New York, but soon Nick finds out Gatsby requires a
favor from him. It seems Gatsby once knew Daisy and would like Nick to invite
her over for tea, where Gatsby can run into her. What Nick does not know is
that Gatsby loves Daisy and considers her the love that got away, while he was fighting
the Great War. What follows is a story of love, money and life in the fast
lane.
This is one
of those stories that seems to be able to fit in any subject, is timeless. Take
a classic story and add a director in Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge), who can mix
eras seamlessly. Everything looks good on paper, but somewhere it just doesn't live up to what it might or could have been. The film looks great; Luhrmann is
a magician with the camera by making everything look amazing. The performances
are very good by most of the cast, the problem lies in the story; it just doesn't seem to fit the visuals. It is slow a lot of times and with a run time
of over two hours; you might be looking at your watch often.
Another thing Luhrmann has done so well with his past movies is incorporating
modern music in period pieces. Well in the case of “The Great Gatsby” the music
is hit or miss, sometimes it is great, while other times it feels out of place.
I really wanted to enjoy this movie, but it is hard to most of the time. This
movie just doesn't live up to its title, and probably should be renamed, “The
Not so Great Gatsby” though that probably wouldn't sell many tickets.
Brian Taylor
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