Baz Lurhman’s epic big screen and budget adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic novel telling the mysterious tale of Jay Gatsby.
The story is of a torrid love affair between Gatsby (Leo Dicaprio) and Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan) and told through the eyes of true friend Nick Carraway (Tobey McGuire).
Gatsby is a man of real mystery, no one has ever really met him. Stories told are based on hearsay and Carraway gets to meet him by chance. He discovers a side to the real Gatsby that no one knows, providing his closest ally.
Set in the roaring twenties, we see glamour and true excess of the rich played out in full Lurhman glory. Its opulent, glorious and extremely sexy. Lurhman’s visual style plays on these excesses and everything is gilded with gold, filmed from up high to take in the whole party, bright colours and loud music. Dicaprio fits in this world with extreme precision. You can drop him in any film, any script and any character and this man will bring him to life perfectly. While this role is no Oscar winner, Dicaprio does shine in a couple of scenes with Daisy and Nick.
The film falls flat for me though. It was far too long and sadly as hollow as the rich characters in the film. It missed the soul of the book. McGuire and Muilligan were bad casting for Daisy and Nick. Joel Edgerton was the only real shining star of the film, really going hell for leather as the Daisy’s harsh whore of a husband Tom.
The sexiness of the book was missing too. It might win awards for costume design or production but certainly not for acting.
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