THE GREAT GATSBY (8)

So sorry for the long delay, school has been killing me... But no matter, I am back and let me introduce you to the new release of the week - THE GREAT GATSBY!

PRE-TRIP

Seeing it’s BAZ LUHRMANN of ROMEO + JULIET and MOULIN ROUGE! at the helm, for sure the film will be an assault on the eyes - through colors and editing - and the ears - thanks to the pounding music. The only question remains: will BAZ serve the story or let his visual nerves fire off on all fronts again? The thing is, the Great American Novel is anything but fantastical, plus AUSTRALIA is BAZ’s not so good attempt at being realistic, this film can go really wrong *even* with the talents involved.

Left to Right - TOBEY MAGUIRE (Nick Carraway), LEONARDO DICAPRIO (Gatsby),
CAREY MULLIGAN (Daisy Buchanan) and JOEL EDGERTON (Tom Buchanan)

Then, the first bad sign: an overly choppy casual conversation clip, courtesy of BAZ’s truly. I’m no filmmaker but I don’t need to cut to 4 different angles just to convey a shot of TOBEY MAGUIRE falling over the sofa. More complaints rained in when JAY-Z is said to have artistic input into the film’s music. Since when do rap, R&B or contemporary songs meld well with a story about a mysterious millionaire in the Roaring 20s, which is also an allusion to the dangers of the American Dream?

I like BAZ’s previous movies (AUSTRALIA, not so much), but for THE GREAT GATSBY, I think I must pass.

Then this trailer happens, which is one of the best I’ve seen this year.

Crap, now what?

7 out of 10.

POST-TRIP

Structurally speaking, THE GREAT GATSBY is almost a clone of MOULIN ROUGE! It starts out in a very somber manner, then liven things up so then we will reach a downer ending. Furthermore, at the very core of both plots is a tragic romance. GATSBY uses the romance to comment on the dangers of the American Dream, not an outright romance. BAZ veers his ship all the way to the latter and as a result, the theme of the novel is now reduced to the size of a dot. It’s still there, but you’ll forget it.

I have a love-hate relationship with the first 30 minutes of the film. Why? Good luck trying to find some visual coherence through the manic transitions, jump-cut editing and swooping camera movements. BAZ is at his most Baz-i-ness here, putting all of his filmmaking signatures on display to introduce the crazy life during the Roaring 20s. Modern songs make their mark here, with tunes from KANYE WEST and WILL.I.AM supporting the frenzy frames. It’s so strange, I half connect and disconnect to everything on screen and every sound coming out of it. It’s bizarre...

The legendary on the left, AMITABH BACHCHAN

The inconsistency spreads to the cast too. LEONARDO DICAPRIO and CAREY MULLIGAN are the best players – not to mention the best looking – of the bunch, showing us a range of emotions and even their intentions.

Not so good unfortunately are the rest, including JOEL EDGERTON, newcomer ELIZABETH DEBICKI and TOBEY MAGUIRE because – for the first two – they don’t have a lot of opportunities to show other dimensions of their characters. As for TOBEY, he does an okay job at being the narrator but most of the awkward moments in the film are due to his acting. Hint: it’s due to his boyish face. Other familiar faces like JASON CLARKE (of ZERO DARK THIRTY fame), ISLA FISHER and Bollywood legend AMITABH BACHCHAN come and go, their roles more like cameos instead of... roles. They do their best and I applaud them for that.

JOEL EDGERTON as Tom Buchanan

ELIZABETH DEBICKI as Jordan Baker, Daisy's friend
and also my new crush

ISLA FISHER as Myrtle Wilson

As for photography, SIMON DUGGAN has shown me his skills before with films like I, ROBOT and KNOWING. We have a lot of beautiful scene composition going on here yet BAZ’s editing tends to ruin it, making the photography a little bit all over the place. This is perhaps at its worst in the first 30 minutes (scroll above for rant).

But here's proof of SIMON's nice lensing skills.

Consistently great are the props. Dear Lord, the dresses, the suits, the accessories and the sets are a treat to see. CATHERINE MARTIN, which also happens to be BAZ’s wife, pulls out all the stops here, I just want to reach out and to be at the parties (although I can’t drink a damn). The audio department also contributes a great deal to make this work, thanks to a really solid score from one of my favorite composers ever CRAIG ARMSTRONG that incorporates the *later* and *more fitting* songs like Together by THE XX, GOTYE's Heart's A Mess and of course, the theme of the movie, Young and Beautiful by LANA DEL REY. Not to mention some jazzy songs from BRYAN FERRY and his orchestra too, in particular their rendition of the late AMY WINEHOUSE's BACK TO BLACK. These songs work better because they are slower and they help create some of the most memorable scenes, both happy and depressing in nature.

The dresses are nice, but so are the suits and ties

One of the parties

And speaking of slow, THE GREAT GATSBY is at its best in this state as it allows you to concentrate on the the acting, the visual candies, the music and the way the story unfolds - even if it's being told in a... romantic manner.

8 out of 10.

MOMENTS THAT LINGER

- Myrtle Wilson meeting her fate.

- So that is Mr. Gatsby.

- The first party.

SIDENOTES

- Suits are from BROOKS BROTHERS, dresses are a combination of PRADA and MIU MIU

- Jewelries provided by TIFFANY & CO. A sneak peek at their collection!

- ELIZABETH DEBICKI got the role not long after her graduation from University of Melbourne's Victorian College of the Arts. She's also 6 ft tall and 23 years old.