Monday 22 July 2013

Gatsby Review

THE GREAT GATSBY

Ah 3D. Geniune cinematic tool or pointless excuse for cinemas and studios to charge extra for tickets and glasses-hire? The debate will go on. But, if like me, you find yourself leaning towards the latter, you opinions may well be changed by the opening shot of Baz Luhrmann's latest. A flat 2D title card suddenly morphs into 3D and gives way to a shot of a green light blinking through mist across a body of water. Sounds simple enough? Words cannot describe how realistic this one shot looks - it feels like you could dive in and swim across. Arguably the opening shot of the year so far.

But then what else would you have expected from Baz Luhrmann? This is the man who had Romeo meet Juliet in an Ecstasy - induced haze and turn-of-the-century Paris bourgeoisie belting out Nirvana. Subtlety was never going to be on the cards. Which makes him at first glance an odd choice to adapt F. Scott Fitzgerald's complex class satire (personally I always thought Woody Allen to be a good choice, Fitzgerald references are rife in his films and he even appears as a character in both Zelig and Midnight in Paris). Or does it? Doomed romance and extravagant parties have been hallmarks of Luhrmann's output to date so it's safe to assume that it was these that appealed to him.

We meet our protagonist, Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) in a sanatorium being treated for alcoholism as Fitzgerald himself was to be, flashing back to the time he met Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) and became involved in his attempts to woo the love of his life (Carey Mulligan) now unhappily married to the rich, racist, affair-having Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Aside from the flashy visuals (more on them later) the film's main strength is DiCaprio's performance as Gatsby, perfectly nailing a difficult character. You can practically see the flood of emotions continually threatening to tear away the flashy outward façade. The fantastic moment leading up to Gatsby and Daisy's reunion when Gatsby's excitement and nervousness overwhelm him should have landed him some sort of nomination alone.

The rest of the performances are less complex but still good, Mulligan managing to make Daisy sweet and vacuous at the same time, Edgerton a brilliant bastard as Tom and there's a superb cameo from Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan as Gatsby's shady associate Meyer Wolfsheim. Only Tobey Maguire's bland Nick doesn't make an impact, but given that he's called upon to do little but look wondrously around him that may not entirely be his fault. However for all the performances the real stars of any Baz Luhrmann film are always going to be the visuals and soundtrack and Gatsby doesn't disappoint. Cinematographer Simon Duggan and production designer Catherine Martin (Baz's wife!) both deserve credit for their outstanding work here. The film simply looks amazing, from the wild party leading up to Gatsby's entrance to the industrial smoketown outside of the city. Also the controversial soundtrack - mixing jazz standards with Jay-Z - does actually work, bringing the film vividly to life. A gorgeous original score from Luhrmann regular Craig Armstrong is worth a mention too, really lending the romantic scenes impact.

Put simply, if you're a Baz fan you'll probably love it. If however you're a Fitzgerald fan you may be left wanting. The film adapts the most basic version of the story, relegating most subplots to a passing mention or dropping them altogether. I particularly missed the scene from the end of the book where Nick meets Gatsby's father. Also some key characters (Wolfsheim, Jordan Baker and Gatsby's butler) are more or less completely sidelined. Whilst some sacrifice was necessary to get the film down to a manageable running time, when the central plot does emerge from under the fireworks and dancing it does seem a little thin on the ground. And yet for all this I still consider the film a success. It's an adaptation that Gatsby himself would have approved of. It's loud, flashy, romantic and emotional, pure cinema as spectacle. And all the better for it. Old sport.   4/5

Review by T. Baynton.

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