The Great Gatsby (FILM REVIEW)
The Great Gatsby
Film Review
by Kam Williams
DiCaprio Handles Title Role in 3-D Adaptation of Literary Classic
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is
an era-defining, literary masterpiece convincingly capturing the decadence, debauchery
and self-destruction of privileged elites living in the lap of luxury at the
height of the Roaring Twenties. Set out on Long Island over the course of a
very eventful summer, the tragic tale of love and betrayal unfolds from the
point-of-view of social-climber Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), a nondescript
bond salesman who fancies himself a celebrated writer someday.
At the point of departure, we find
him renting a modest cottage sitting in the shadow of a sprawling waterfront
mansion owned by Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), a self-made man given to throwing
extravagant parties for fellow members of high society. Despite having his pick
of a glittery litter of gold-digging flappers, the mysterious millionaire remains
obsessed with Daisy (Carey Mulligan), an attractive young woman he had dated as
a soldier before leaving the country to fight in World War I.
While he was overseas, she met and married
Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton), an abusive adulterer from an old money family whose
own mammoth estate is located on the other side of the bay. Nick comes to play
a critical role in the proceedings once Gatsby learns that he just happens to
be a distant cousin of Daisy’s.
Soon, the lovelorn tycoon prevails
upon his new, next-door neighbor to serve as a go-between by inviting her over for
what she doesn’t know is a secret rendezvous with an ex-boyfriend. Sparks fly afresh, and
it’s not long before all the morally-corrupted central characters end up taking
a ride aboard an ill-fated, emotional roller coaster.
Perhaps more pertinent than
recounting further the familiar plotline of a novel we all remember from high
school is addressing its reimagining as a visually-captivating, ethereal
fantasy by Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge). The bodacious director not only shot
the New York story in his native Australia, but
infused the soundtrack with hip-hop tunes by the film’s executive producer,
Jay-Z, and wife, Beyonce’.
Before you join the rush to indict
the anachronistic inclusion of rap as blasphemous in a movie supposedly recreating
the Jazz Age, consider the fact that historical costume dramas generally tend
to tell us more about the period in which they were made than about the one in
which they transpire. Why else would anyone see fit to mount a fifth version of
Gatsby?
Reflecting the influences of both its
producer and director, this riveting reinterpretation for the Hip-Hop
Generation is apt to be best appreciated by fans of mind-numbing gangsta’ rap weaned
on shallow videos featuring materialistic misogynists enjoying free-flowing champagne
while surrounded by a bevy of gyrating beauties. Bravo to Baz for effectively lending his trademark lush and lurid touch
to a cautionary classic chronicling the downside of
the American Dream!
Excellent
(4 stars)
Rated PG-13 for sexuality, smoking, violent images,
partying and brief profanity
Running time: 143 minutes
Distributor: Warner
Brothers
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