Review: The Great Gatsby

Rarely is a film anticipated with so much dread, debated with so much fear and loathing, than this adaptation of The Great Gatsby. In our world of constant online criticism and faceless sniping, it seemed as if millions were at pains to show their literary appreciation by preemptively crushing the efforts of Baz Lurhmann. As a fan of the novel, and of Fitzgerald's greater canon, I attempted to watch with an open mind. There were admittedly many potential faults: 3-D, switching a masterpiece into another art form, the modern soundtrack. My gravest concern was that it would be a triumph of style over substance: a meretricious focus on the decadence of Jazz Age parties. The whole genius of the story is that there are so many themes, so many observations about the world, society and emotion. The time and place in which it is set are important only in the fact that they join these strands together in a way that few historical moments have. I believe that capturing the underlying themes was going to be the most important aspect, and the inevitable cinematographic barrage of lavish aesthetics should follow behind.

For me, this was achieved. Doomed love, tragic attempts at replaying the past, the hubristic bubble of moneyed frivolity standing at the precipice of the Depression, social change and identity were all present in the film as they were in the novel. Perhaps the love between Daisy and Gatsby was over-egged. I read that Luhrmann described it as primarily a love story, and thus other relationships were downplayed. Not many integral elements were slashed, no section suffered, and the pace was retained throughout the two and a half hours.

With these bits captured, the aesthetics could be enjoyed. Luhrmann's film is sickeningly stylish, every moment of swirling inebriation and quixotic love heightened through cinematography. Every shot was a high definition painting, the clothes and scenery all mind-blowing. The most striking visual images of the book are present: shirt throwing, green lights and oculist  eyes. The soundtrack ultimately worked: no single song ever seemed to be played, it was just a stream of diverse tunes. Lurhmann correctly identified the need to use some modern sounds, because if a principal job of music in film is to stir emotion, then a few Charleston numbers weren't going to do the trick in 2013. The 3-D was kind of pointless, as the technology remains a gimic: it's barely even 3-dimensional, there are just a few different layers on-screen, like cardboard cutouts. Basically, it was filmed in a fashion that brought home the nauseousness of twenties New York.

The cast was excellent, although in pretty much the same way that it was in the 1974 version. Leonardo DiCaprio was born for the role of Jay Gatsby: the criticism that he's forever playing brooding geniuses weighed down by life is ironically a main point for praise in this work. Tobey Maguire captures Nick Carroway's polite affability and impartial observation. His narration is pleasingly similar to that of the novel, using all the best quotations, and adding in new ones that Fitzgerald himself could easily have penned. Carey Mulligan likewise portrays Daisy's personality well: tragically shallow but with intense emotional depth, plus Mulligan creates a greater chemistry with her Gatsby than Farrow and Redford managed in '74. Again, Joel Edgerton's Tom Buchanan was as similar to the literary character as anyone could have hoped, funneling his arrogant menace into a hurricane of chauvinistic brutality. Jordan Baker, Myrtle Wilson, George Wilson and Meyer Wolfsheim... same thing, all as perfectly similar to Fitzgerald's creations as I could imagine. Amitabh Bachchan managed to elevate the character of Wolfsheim into a convincing gangster, not a jolly gentleman who dabbled in World Series. Good acting all round.

So I thought that this was a triumph. The main problem is that The Great Gatsby is such a good book: translating it into other media will always result in changes, and literary elements being lost. It was a great film and a skilled adaptation, but it will remain an adaptation: the novel still reigns supreme in Gatsby franchise.