The Great Gatsby (2013)

Released 17th May 2013, The Great Gatsby is another adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel about the American Dream and the roaring 20s. Being an adaptation of the 1925, the film delves into the themes of wealth, status, love and women. I know that that last one is rather broad but, in the context of the 1920s, we see how women’s status varied based on the different relationships they have with certain individuals. One aspect that the film manages to soar with is its interpretation of the chaos that was the roaring 20s; every single scene is overtly rambunctious in one way or another thus communicating a form of rising action across the narrative. However, the rest of the film is not quite so great. If any of you have read my Spider-man or Spider-man 2 review, you will know that I do not rate Tobey Maguire as a good actor; this opinion stretches into this film.

Even in the original novel, Nick Carraway is already very passive character who is simply there to observe the story; Tobey Maguire manages to have either no screen presence or presents himself with a nonchalant delivery in his performance; this criticism extends to Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker (albeit that she is capable of using facial expressions well). Leonardo DiCaprio is great as Jay Gatsby: while not the strongest performance of the film, he is able to abide by the mysterious nature of the character with his salesman-esque vocalisation and facial expression façades. For me, the standouts of the cast are Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan. Mulligan is able to convey the fragility of women during the period under the influence of male-mistreatment through ever-expressive facial expressions and controlled body tension. As for Edgerton, he is able to communicate Tom’s rage across every single scene, however, he is able to do so while also balancing a control of his gestures and body tension. Most of his rage comes from his eye-contact and rugged vocal tone.

In contrast to the submissive Daisy, Isla Fisher’s Myrtle holds power through her physical relationship with Tom. That said, Fisher does not receive much screen time and is not able to leave a lasting impression. So much of the film is clearly shot on a green screen and very little of it is well implemented and you are frequently sucked out of the narrative because of it. That said, the costumes are period-appropriate and look great. As for the soundtrack, it reworks modern songs such as Love is Blindness with 1920s Jazz symphonics: the songs work well to establish the popularity of Gatsby’s parties and other events occurring through the film. Overall, The Great Gatsby is a film with several well executed aspects, however, weak visuals and a weak protagonist render the film far less engaging shell of what it could have been.