Baz Luhrmanns’ much anticipated adaptation of The Great Gatsby opened in theatres on May 10. Luhrmann is best known for Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet. Both films defined his directing style, characterized by visually stunning cinematography, interesting music choices, and quick camera changes. The trailer for the film showcases his stylistic choices — which could make this classic novel rise or fall to the occasion. But despite the visually grand nature of the film, an underwhelming sensation washed over me, leaving the question, “is that it?” upon the end of the film.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, revolves around Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) an earnest young man, who travels to Long Island on the outskirts of New York City. His neighbour Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) has a reputation for throwing lavish parties. People from near and far attend but none have met the elusive Gatsby. Nick later discovers that Gatsby has been throwing these parties to attract his cousin, Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan). Gatsby is often seen staring at the green light at the end of the Buchanan’s deck and when Daisy finally meets Gatsby after years of separation, the idealization of the past that Gatsby clings to slowly slips away.
The Roaring Twenties was defined by extravagance, liquor, and jazz. Luhrmann reproduces this era with Gatsby’s extravagant parties. The saturated colours and booming music express the excess. Luhrmann creates a world of splendor that is just as attractive to the audience as it is to Carraway. However, like Carraway, the audience quickly becomes tired of the ceaseless need to show a diamond or champagne glass in every possible scene. The point is made: wealth radiates from these characters, much like the $150 million budget that went into creating the film.
Underneath the extravagance of the time period lies a tender story. DiCaprio does an excellent job portraying Gatsby as a man who is nostalgic for a time when his love was enough to make Daisy attracted to him. However, as time progresses these two characters cannot live without their consumerist needs. While Gatsby throws parties to attract Daisy, she only wants to run away with him, a concept that Gatsby cannot understand or truly accept, for his entire life has been built on illusion and falsehood to ensure his acceptance into the upper ranks of society. Mulligan showcases Daisy’s tumultuous nature from immaturity to deep unhappiness with a maturity beyond her years, while Maguire excellently highlights Carraway’s growing doubts about the stability of the upper class mentality.
The film fails to capture the overall complexity of The Great Gatsby’s storyline. At the least, it is a simple synopsis. However, the significance of the story’s literary symbols that is not fully expressed in the film. Luhrmann’s flaw is in not believing that the audience is intelligent enough to understand these symbols. He frequently hammers the meaning into the audiences’ ears. This is the antithesis of the pure genius of Fitzgerald, who never overtly stated the significance or meaning of people or objects; he had faith in the intelligence of the reader.
Luhrmann’s film is a new visionary attempt to recreate a literary masterpiece. He adds a fun and spirited twist to the story, which was lacking in the 1974 film adaptation starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. Unfortunately, Luhrmann’s stylistic vision for the film failed to mesh with Fitzgerald’s beautiful prose. Upon leaving the theatre, a moviegoer said to his friend, “Well, I didn’t hate it,” which is the perfect way to describe the feeling of this film.
