The Greatest Gatsby

I have been intrepidly waiting to see The Great Gatsby film for months! I was curious to see if it would do the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel justice, and be as good as or better than the Robert Redford film.

In April I learned that one of my favourite singers, Lana Del Rey, has a song on the soundtrack that asks, "Will you still love me when I am no longer young and beautiful?" Then, I found out that another favourite band of mine, Florence and the Machine, also has a song on the soundtrack.

To prepare myself for the film I purchased the soundtrack for my iPhone while we were in Barcelona on vacation. I discovered that Baz Luhrmann had done it again: similarly to “Romeo & Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge” he had melded modern music into a period piece. I knew this would cause controversy; that inflexible purists would find it intolerable and long for the pure flapper sound of the 1920’s.

So with these things in mind, I watched the movie! I was so totally blown away! It was fantastic. The modern music blended well within the scenes. The hip hop songs by Jay-Z & Kanye West are current representations of our modern sound; much like jazz was in the 20's. The hip hop music increased the edgy tension of particular scenes.

I thought it was much better than the sedate Redford version. It was truer to the Fitzgerald novel because it showed the incredible spectacle of the lavish parties thrown by Gatsby during Prohibition. It was flashy and excessive! The hair, make-up and costumes were dramatic, using the styles of the period that would agree with our contemporary ideals.

The casting was spot-on. To me, the Titanic Leonardo DiCaprio was too boyish, petite and unbelievable. I was relieved to see how much DiCaprio has improved with age. He was sexy, dynamic, mysterious and very masculine as Gatsby. I recall a scene when he & Daisy flee the party to the gardener’s cabin to be alone. Gatsby reaches up and touches Daisy, her petite face is cradled in his large hands… thrilling! His looks reminded me of a young George Clooney.

Carey Mulligan was the perfect Daisy Buchanan. She is fickle, non-maternal, and is pandered to by everyone around her. Daisy carries her burden of beauty and exaggerates her stupidity to avoid guilt for her poor choices & to assuage her pain caused by Jay’s infidelity. Mulligan expertly put on airs just as I imagine Daisy would have when I read the novel.

The moral of the story was not lost in all the panache. The self-centered pursuit of pleasure & self-gratification by Jay & Daisy Buchanan was felt deeply throughout the film. This is hands down the best film I have seen in 2013!