The Great Gatsby

I've long been a fan of Baz Luhrmann's work and after repeated watchings of the trailers for his adaptation of classic American novel The Great Gatsby, I was expecting a film with the director's trademark visual flamboyance. Suffice to say, I was far from disappointed on this front. Gatsby is, in a word, gorgeous.
The many party scenes burst with opulence - glitter, fireworks, champagne, you would need to see it a million times to pick up on every detail. The rest of the film pops too - each simple close up is akin to a portrait. The decadent sets, the CGI backdrops, the mash-up of brand new and vintage footage, Gatsby is overflowing with treats.

Before watching it, I'll admit, stunning visuals were all I'd expected. Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet neared perfection on all fronts, but he never quite managed to match it with Moulin Rouge which is more heady than an Absinthe hangover. But although it is dizzying and difficult to connect with, its soundtrack and dazzling looks somehow manage to draw me back in time after time and I was resigned to the fact that Gatsby might be the same. On reflection, I got much more than I bargained for.

Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) is a recovering alcoholic, encouraged by his therapist to write down the memories that trouble him. He tells of his arrival in New York at the start of the twenties when the city was booming and he, a wholesome young graduate with aspirations of becoming a writer, marvels at its bright lights and endless possibilities. He finds himself invited to one of the lavish parties thrown by his wealthy neighbour Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) who requests to be re-introduced to Nick's cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) the delicate wife of one of America's richest men, and the woman that Gatsby had fallen in love with five years previously. The two rekindle their romance in secrecy until they are discovered by Daisy's brutish, womanising husband Tom and the repercussions prove deadly.


A tale crammed with debauchery and greed should be shallow but its beautifully drawn characters make this film something more. Gatsby himself is contradiction personified. At once charismatic and insecure, his ruthless ambition is marred by his obsessive love for Daisy and his naive pursuit of perfection. His parties attract revellers from every corner of New York, but unlike the superficial opportunists he surrounds himself with, we see that the Gatsby is a man motivated by more than money and status. DiCaprio's performance is understated and perfectly executed and he makes his entrance in truly iconic fashion. This memorable moment along with a scene in which an endearingly nervous Gatsby is reintroduced to Daisy, are highlights of the film.

Jourdan Baker, a friend of Daisy's, remarks in one scene that she likes large parties because "they're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy." Luhrmann seems to have run with this idea, creating his usual ocular spectacular but this time, engineering intimate moments for the emotion to seep in. All that remains is a hearty recommendation - as Nick Carraway observes, Gatsby is truly great.