Rating of
3.5/4
The Great Gatsby
KingInTheNorth - wrote on 09/09/13
Brace Yourselves, this review is LONG
World literature also survives, without the help of Hollywood, decades. Effortlessly .
The ambition of the dream factory so is quite an artistic and commercial risk . So there are about F. Scott Fitzgerald's modern classic novel " The Great Gatsby " no completely satisfactory film version , last failed director Jack Clayton and his leading actor Robert Redford in 1974 at the tricky task. Also Baz Luhrmann adaptation struck in the run against a certain skepticism .
Roman purists feared the Australian would destroy Fitzgeralds' finely honed prose in favor of exuberant visual stimuli.
And actually plays Luhrmann its strengths , but not only that what he is. " The Great Gatsby " conjures with his social drama on the big screen, is simply breathtaking in many ways: a gaudy , theatrical, - excessive opera, sometimes the third dimension to threatens to blow up . Especially the outstanding Leonardo DiCaprio helps the movie a lot.
On the idea of ​​a remake of F. Scott Fitzgerald's " The Great Gatsby " director Luhrmann came in 2004, when he indulged himself a break after his worldwide success "Moulin Rouge" and sought relaxation on a trip with the legendary Trans-Siberian Express. It was a long way from those first images in the mind of the filmmaker to premiere at Cannes and only after the interim technical revolution of 3D cinemas Luhrmann, it was possible to develop the full strength and power of his vision.
The three-dimensional images in most movies best, nice accessory - not so for the Australians. He uses the 3D crescendo to let his " Gatsby " stand literally : The Cinematography by Simon Duggan is felt constantly in motion, it floats furious about the swanky Long -estate companies and the party of the New York upper class or over the skyline of the booming metropolis of the Roaring Twenties . That's pomp and kitsch to excess, as it is known from earlier films by well . But here in parts celebrated visual ( and audible ) Overkill is not an end in itself . Rather, the extrovert - frenzied style reflects the loose morals and the excessiveness of the portrayed Decade resist and at the same time Luhrmann prepares his characters so that the appropriate stage : He creates a world of artifice and illusion , in the real feelings have no chance.
Shakespeare's " Romeo and Juliet" Baz Luhrmann had once transferred to the present, but felt not to the Elizabethan theater language of the Bard, with Fitzgerald, the director can now action time of submission at great cost (equipment and costumes are a feast for the eyes ) lively and are garnished with the sway in our current pop culture - in both cases the result underlines the timelessness of classics and processed so that their constant updates.
the enthusiastic luxury images of the Jazz Age with modern rap and pop of Jay Z , Lana Del Rey , Beyonce or Rihanna are highlighted. Luhrman turns a dash of Gershwin and Cole Porter, adds a little subtle, but quite effective , the action time in the 1920s with our present -2010s.
Issues such as the greed of banks and exchanges a certain age , the ruthlessness of a decoupled from the rest of the population high society and the rampant hedonism find beyond even without great effort of the current director, a clear echo. The portrait of society would be without the human drama at its center, but only idea Cinema and nothing is further from Luhrmann than that. His concept can only work with the right actors.
The cast of " The Great Gatsby " was carefully chosen. The most obvious of all casting decisions concerned the title role, for which Leonardo DiCaprio formally imposes. Gatsby is both larger than life, aloof and inscrutable, on the other hand, he is charming, looks familiar and inspires trust and confidence . A mixture of that is the classic qualities of a movie star not unlike, and when DiCaprio ( after half an hour by the way) made ​​its first appearance , then this is done with the appropriate ceremony - his famous winning smile fills the screen and is in the background fireworks ignited. From then on, DiCaprio is the charismatic focal point of the film. It starts as a mysterious master of ceremonies, which aligns the biggest parties of the decade on Long Iceland. This Gatsby is an aging through shady businesses to untold riches tycoon in pink suits, of each half- patronizing, half- recognizing "old sport", but also a shy romantic who risk his life continues to be allowed to love. DiCaprio's interpretation is fragile and vulnerable, he looks even more fragile than Daisy in the crucial moment, as the graceful beauty is Carey Mulligan with a weak will.
DiCaprio's Gatsby even in the most self- glory uncertain - he lacks the generations passed on unshakable self-confidence and arrogance of the upper class, he can not completely conceal his low origin with all the money in the world. This is especially evident in the crucial verbal battle with Tom Buchanan in a heated hotel room in New York. This is Daisy's final to win the favor of the climax of the film, in which every line of dialogue , every nuance , every little gesture fits perfectly. The sultriness of the day is just as noticeable as the mist rises through the excessive whiskey consumption in the minds of the protagonists. In this atmosphere, Joel Edgerton, who until then represented bastard Tom, acts on the edge of caricature, from the feeling of superiority of the upper-class figure and can collapse Gatsby facade. Not only here Luhrmann follows the original very closely and remains remarkably faithful to it. This is again not to Tobey Maguire, whom many of these words are placed in the mouth.
The former "Spider-Man " is confident in the difficult role of the narrator, Nick. He becomes the emotional anchor for the audience, even when his relationship with the golfer Jordan Baker ( promising : Elizabeth Debicki ) remains underexposed.
Conclusion: Kitsch Berserk Baz Luhrmann takes the rap in the Wall Street of the 20s , fueling its 3D love and social drama on a large portion of " Moulin Rouge" Wit and celebrates the excesses of unbridled luxury class. Despite the visual madness of this " Great Gatsby ," the F. Scott Fitzgerald literary work is largely meets : Good job , old sport !!
