Always a fan of carey mulligan. Ever since I saw that one Doctor Who episode, Blink.
Great but Overlong Gatsby, The
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 On 05/14/2013 at 09:51 PM by Super Step See More From This User » |
Like many people, I was supposed to read this book in high school.
So I went in completely blind other than knowing that Baz Luhrmann directed it, it had an all-star cast, 48% from critics and 84% from audiences on rottentomatoes, and I just generally got a sense of people being split on how good it was, but my friend wanted to see it, and I kind of did too, so why not?
Went to a 12:40pm showing today in 2D, which I mention because this is one of those movies where you can tell things are supposed to be popping out at you because of how much more prominent (and sometimes, unfortunately, digitized) things in the foreground are composed to be in the shots. Pop-up text: also a hint you were supposed to pay a couple bucks extra for the full effect, you slacker.
Personally though, I liked it a lot. I mean it's a bit ironic my main complaint is that it felt like it dragged on too much, particularly toward the end, when the book is known for being short, but that time was still filled with what I thought was an entertaining and engaging movie.
From a technical perspective, there is nothing I can attack, aside from maybe a few too many noticeably CGI cars which are overshadowed by a severely impressive production design, with some interesting composition and editing that puts you into a hazy drunken stupor, nervousness, emptiness, or allows you to be enamored with the sights and sounds right along with the characters. It deftly complements the pitch-perfect acting.
It's odd for me to pay it that complement, because that extravagantly stylized production design is a distinct mark of a Baz Luhrmann film, and personally I remember hating what I watched of his Romeo + Juliet movie in high school, and the fast-cut editing at the beginning of Moulin Rouge gave me a headache when I tried to watch it on Netflix some time last year. Hell, I actually thought I was in for that bullshit again when this movie started out looking like a music video, but it did calm down enough that I was able to enjoy the immense quality of the director's visionary work here.
Speaking of music, Jay-Z apparently designed the soundtrack for this, and many people were understandably worried about that hip-hop sensibility clashing with the 1920s scenes going on on the screen. Well, there are hip hop songs, but in specific places where I felt they worked well in amplifying the excess of what was happening, and I'd almost argue there was a lot more genuinely time period authentic "flapper-girls-would-be-dancing-to-this" music than hip hop, and the two styles created more harmony than dissonance for my tastes. I did notice an acoustic cover of Beyonce's "Crazy in Love," which for some reason made me laugh.
Plus, while the technical production was top-notch, I think what gave me the most satisfaction was, after Iron Man 3, which was an enjoyable Summer action-comedy, and character-driven in its own right, don't get me wrong, getting to see a movie focused more on story and character development than jokes and explosions. While the people of East and West Egg might not have the highest moral standards, their affairs at least are interesting in their own right, and I was enjoying the heavy symbolism I failed a quiz about in high school, the overall theme of material versus emotional wealth, the character quirks, and the plot reveals that showed the man behind the curtains.
On the one hand, I wish I would have actually read the book, and do plan to now, but on the other hand, not knowing where everything was going probably helped me enjoy the movie more; because dear sweet crap, if I'd have known from that short a book what was going to happen and had it dragged out that long, I think I'd hate having to sit there that long. I still kind of did towards the end, but for someone that only had vague memories about the Egg lands and green light symbolizing something from a quiz he failed in high school, I enjoyed myself quite a bit here.
So if you think you know what to expect from a Baz Luhrmann retelling of The Great Gatsby, your expectations are probably correct, and if that's what you want, you'll love this. If you hate his overstylized, er, style, approach with caution, but at least for me it wasn't as offensive as I vaguely recall his other movies being. And if you read the book and feel like that's all you needed, you could probably skip this one, cause knowing what happens is probably going to make that run time feel extra-long.
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