The Great Gatsby (2013), directed by Baz Luhrmann, is a gorgeous modern adaptation of the American classic. In 2011, when I first heard about the makings of this movie, I was very excited and even more excited that Leonardo DiCaprio was going to play Jay Gatsby. When I finally watched this movie for the first time in 2013, I wanted to re-watch it right away. The story of The Great Gatsby is told very well and the acting of the cast was superb. Although this movie was well-done, it is still not perfect.
In this adaptation, Tobey Maguire plays Nick Carraway which works nicely. Immediately in the beginning of the movie, the audience hears Tobey’s narration and one is able to hear sadness in his voice, indicating that the character has seen and experienced a lot. For those who do not know the story of Gatsby very well, the addition of the therapist speaking to Nick was a great way of foreshadowing later events in the film. Even as someone who knows the story, I liked the addition of the therapist and the fact that the story of Gatsby was a flashback. It characterized Nick greatly and helped the story along, since in the book itself Nick is telling the story from a future perspective. Thus, the story is meant to be told that way in the movie as well.
One aspect of the movie that I was not fond of was the hyper-active feel behind some of the scenes. For instance, in the scene where Gatsby is driving Nick in his yellow car to the city for lunch, Gatsby is driving recklessly and it is filmed in such a way that I was reminded of a chase scene from an action movie. In my opinion, this isn’t necessary. Gatsby may be hurrying his sentences or choking on them, but the car ride itself does not have to be rushed in order for it to be interesting. The same feel is also shown in a later scene where Gatsby, Tom, Nick, Jordan, and Daisy are going into the city. Tom and Gatsby are driving different cars and are both speeding. In fairness, the scene is symbolic of their heated competition for Daisy, but the speeding of the cars does not contribute much to the movie.
The music for this film is another aspect of the movie that was not done perfectly. I understand Luhrmann’s desire to incorporate modern-day music into a movie set in the 1920s so that the movie is more relatable. Yet, some of the songs worked while some did not. Perhaps I am biased since I am not a Jay-Z fan, but I think that his raps did nothing for the scenes in the movie, and if anything, they distracted the audience from what was occurring on screen. For instance, hearing the words “hunnid dollar bill, real” during the scene where Gatsby and Nick are with Meyer Wolfsheim felt out of place for the setting entirely. However, Lana del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful” worked. It wasn’t incredibly out of place and was certainly not distracting during any of the scenes.
I liked the casting for this film very much. Casting for The Great Gatsby is a challenge since the characters in the book are interpreted differently by everyone who reads it. Leonardo DiCaprio plays rich and mysterious Gatsby very well. Carey Mulligan as Daisy is not a bad choice. Mulligan’s acting is very believable and her interpretation of how to play Daisy is much more desirable than Mia Farrow’s in the 1974 adaptation. Daisy, as careless and selfish as she is, seems somewhat deserving of sympathy through Mulligan’s acting. This was most likely one of the only faults of Mulligan in her playing Daisy. Joel Edgerton, who plays Tom Buchanan, did an excellent job of portraying Tom’s aggressive character.
Despite some of the movie’s flaws, The Great Gatsby (2013) is a good movie and displays a good, modern-day retelling of the famous story.
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