Baz Luhrmann's film adaption of 'The Great Gatsby follows a writer, Nick Carraway, a man who leaves the Midwest behind to come to glitzy, dynamic mecca also known as New York. In chasing his own aspirations of being a famous writer, Nick moves in next door to a mysterious millionaire, Jay Gatsby. Nick grows captivated by the mysterious Gatsby and his relationship with Jay's cousin, Daisy, which leads Nick into the world of the super rich, full of love, deceit and denial. As one would expect, Baz Luhrmann's adaption of the classic novel is a visual explosion of color, light and extravagance but the film lacks much else. The problem I've always had with Baz Luhrmann is he seems more interested in creating striking visuals than telling a story with those visuals. The film's visuals certainly capture the extravagance of this world but it never actually elicits any form of emotion or mood. Personally I didn't find the visuals all that impressive either as the film looked far too much like a cartoon for me, with its unnaturally vivid color scheme. I guess the biggest problem with the film is simply that it's bloated, long and really misses the mark at capturing Jay Gatsby's tragic plight and blind obsession. The story is told completely void of subtlety and lacks almost any emotional investment, as if Luhrmann is simply going through he motions, rushing to get to the next place where he can show off his extravagant visuals. While the film is rather true to the book, I wish Luhrmann would have attempted to make the film's themes contemporary, capturing how this story has many elements that still ring true today. Of course it does but Luhrmann seems quite complacent in telling this story set in the 20s, without much attempt at resonance for modern audiences. Oh wait, it did have a Jay-Z soundtrack! That was incredibly distracting and out of place. In the end, Luhrmann's version of The Great Gatsby is exactly what I expected - larger than life yet void of much meaning or feeling. 4.5/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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