The Great Gatsby

From a sanatorium, burned-out alcoholic Nick Carroway (Tobey Maguire) narrates his experience in New York in the summer of 1922. Setting out from the Midwest to become a bond trader, he rents a house on the nouveau riche side of Long Island and reconnects with his bubbly cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) and her husband Tom (Joel Edgarton), a college friend from an old-money family. They introduce him to jaded golf pro Jordan Baker (Elizabeth Debicki), and he becomes a reluctant witness to Tom’s philandering. Not long thereafter, Nick is invited to the palatial home of his neighbor, the mysterious Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), who entrusts Nick with a weighty secret of his own.

By virtue of theatricality and star power, Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 take on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel distinguishes itself from prior adaptations, but different isn’t always better. This movie has style to spare and some good performances yet suffers from a hollow core and questionable directorial and scripting choices.

Though unconventionally cast (Indian screen vet Amitabh Bachchan appears briefly as Jewish gangster Meyer Wolfsheim), The Great Gatsby is generally well-acted. DiCaprio has great screen presence in the title role: he is supremely confident yet guardedly insecure. Likewise, Mulligan excels at tapping the sadness beneath Daisy’s flighty exterior, and Maguire gives nondescript Nick some anxious energy. On the other hand, Edgarton, sporting a ridiculous moustache, turns the already insensitive and buffoonish Tom into a virtual cartoon character by pumping him full of endless bluster.

As one would expect given Luhrmann’s (Moulin Rouge) pedigree The Great Gatsby is also a visually striking film. Shot in sumptuous 3D, it features handsomely designed sets and convincing period apparel. The onscreen opulence magnifies the grandeur and excess of Gatsby’s parties while the dim grays of the Valley of Ashes underscore the industrial dumping ground’s desolation.

Unfortunately, other aspects of the production mar the visual splendor. The film’s Jazz Age setting clashes awkwardly with its 21^st century soundtrack. Whether Luhrmann intended to draw parallels between the flapper and hip-hop lifestyles or whether he simply wanted to heighten the appeal to contemporary audiences is anyone’s guess. What is known is that it reduces parts of the film (party sequences in particular) to a third-rate music video and robs it of pathos.

A more grievous shortcoming is a change in the characterization that arguably undermines the spirit of the narrative. Fitzgerald’s book was a pointed critique of the callousness of the rich, and much of what made Gatsby such a tragic character was that he spent so much of his adult life in pursuit of someone who wasn’t worth it. But because the film softens Daisy up considerably (her terrible parenting is excised, for instance), that element is lost, and Gatsby’s tragic appeal is diminished. Thankfully, other changes (such as the addition of the frame story and the downplaying of Nick’s relationship with Jordan) don’t have the same impact.

The Great Gatsby needn’t have been a flawless adaptation to have succeeded as a film, and the strength of the performances elevate it above mere eye candy. But, in fitting mimicry of its subject matter, the lack of depth and the predilection for easy amusement are things that even a huge budget and a grand presentation cannot overcome.

7.25/10