The Great Gatsby (2013) Review

The great Dicaprio, in3D, which is of course very necessary and enhances the viewing experience I many ways. So it is finally here, the full-length version of one of the coolest trailers ever made, bringing us more of all the things we liked about the trailer. Except not at all.

Baz Luhrmann is not a man that I am a huge fan of, but one that I do have great deal of respect for. He is not a man who wants to make the big earner or the critics favourite, but he wants to make his film, for better or for worse. As it often is with his films, the result is mixed.

On one hand the film is quite visually enthralling, with some interesting visuals and good cinematography. On the other hand it is an empty, uneven piece of story telling that doesn’t quite know where it is going. To begin with the film has made the decision having narration through Nick Carraway writing about his experiences (I have not read the book so I am unsure to what extent this is in the book). This is a grand example of films narrating directly from the book which they´ve adapted, which in this reviewers opinion, seems very lazy.

The character of Nick Carraway, who is in fact the lead, becomes a very shallow character. This works to a degree as his role is more that of an observer, yet I couldn´t help but feel like he was lacking in character. The enigma Jay Gatsby on the other hand is much more interesting and in many ways the sole driving force of the film. Finding out more about him is what really keeps the viewer engaged throughout the film and so the fact that almost everything was revealed when there was about an hour left seemed like an odd choice. Both these characters were well acted, and so were most the roles, with one very major exception, Carey Mulligan as Daisy. I usually think she is a great actor, but something about her was very off this time around. It seems as if she were directed to add a lot of melodrama in her every line delivery, making her painful to watch.

There is one issue that did bother me more then anything in the film, the fact that I found Jay Gatsby to be somewhat despicable despite the film portraying him as a good man. I think this has a lot to do with the book being written in the 20s and despite Luhrmann´s attempt to modernize it, it doesn´t feel relevant.

All this being said, we do of course have to talk about the style of film and well…eh. Like mentioned above, the trailer was one of the coolest, most stylish trailers I have ever seen, sadly the style shown in the trailer is on and off during the film. At times it is very cool to look at, but then the style fades out and it becomes ordinary, which is disappointing considering it feels like a style over substance film, but one that isn´t always stylish.

While the film is miles away from bad, it is very underwhelming after the great trailer. It has many fun moments and sequences, but overall it becomes too bland to be more then just ok.

3/5