Apprehension. That’s what I felt before the screen lit up and dazzled. Was I going to enjoy Baz Luhrmann’s rendition of the The Great Gatsby? Had I set the bar too high? Was it going to be a butchered disaster? Was F. Scott Fitzgerald going to roll over in his grave? The critics weren’t helping much with their mixed reviews. So, with an open mind and shielded heart, I sat through 143 minutes of one of the best book to movie adaptions ever conceived.
With that being said, I will add a
significant side note that this Gatsby
is directed towards a younger generation. The set pieces, the costumes, the contemporary-fused
jazz and hip-hop music – it’s all so bold, so fresh. It’s just what one needs
to generate excitement about taking another look (or first look) at the source
material. I may be stoned to death by staunch purists for these wild statements,
but so be it. Overall, Luhrmann’s Gatsby has
both style and substance. The story is solidly intact among with its quotes
nearly taken line by line. However, the explanation for Nick Carraway’s recount
of his time with Jay Gatsby is divergent of the book, but interesting to say
the least.
Acting kudos go out to most of the cast,
with particular interest going towards Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan. Leo
as Gatsby has never made obsession, tear-welled eyes, and pink suits look so
cool before. And Mulligan pulls off the massive task of making the wispy, fickle
Daisy likable as a human being. In the end, the two make my heart break as the
green light fades into the fog.
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