The Great Gatsby

Quality ≠ Quantity 

dcmetrotheaterarts.com

Carey Mulligan and Leonardo DiCaprio give their usual high-calliber performances in The Great Gatsby.

Unlike many of you reading this review, I never had F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel assigned in my 5th grade English class, and so prior to my viewing, I had no idea what to expect going into this film. All I knew was that it took place in the 20s, and that the cast was pretty star-studded. What I witnessed both dazzled me and kept me asking how soon the film would be ending. 

In the off chance there are any readers who aren't familiar with the story, Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) moves to Long Island after his graduation from Yale lands him a job on Wall Street. His mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby (the always impressive Leonardo DiCaprio), throws constant parties in his elaborately extravagant mansion. Across the bay from where Gatsby and Nick are is Nick's cousin, Daisy, and her husband, Tom. The four spend the next 143 minutes entangled in a tragic tale of facades, love, commitment, and secrets (sounds like the perfect formula for a 5th grade novel, huh?).

There are things in this movie I both admire and resent. Visually speaking, the film is among one of the best I've seen. The one to thank for this is Production Designer Catherine Martin, who previously won an Oscar for her work on Moulin Rouge! Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton, who play Daisy and Tom, as well as Leonardo DiCaprio, fail to disappoint. It might not be too early to predict Oscar nominations for the portrayers of Gatsby and Daisy. 

Artistically speaking, I frown upon the film's music choice. The music playing during Gatsby's house parties was some sort of cross between techno and hip hop. As far as I know, the music from the 1920s wasn't enhanced by the technology of today. While I see that this was an attempt to modernize the story, I don't see that it as successful, as Gatsby partially was robbed of its historical integrity. On the topic of the screenplay, there was a lot to get through in order to get to the worthwhile parts of the movie. I was intrigued at first, and then it lost me. A cycle of interest and boredom was constant, making Gatsby frustrating to sit through. Nick Carraway narrated the entire movie, and so my question is, why didn't they just have him narrate the parts that the audience didn't have to waste their time with?  

I'm torn. I want so badly to give this film an excellent rating, because when The Great Gatsby is good, it's great. But there are times throughout the entire film that clearly serve as a vehicle to get to those great parts. The visuals and performances all left me impressed, and the scenes that focused on Gatsby's and Daisy's love were superbly constructed. Having said that, Gatsby was certainly overlong, and had too much time preceding and following its best moments. The Great Gatsby is fantastic, but could have been so much more than that if the filmmakers didn't equate quality to quantity. 

Rating: 3.5/5