The decision to ‘update’ one of the 20th century’s best loved works of literature – F. Scott Fitzgerald’s magnum opus, no less – in the form of a BAZ LUHRMAN FILM, provoked mixed reactions. Fans were dubious when a trailer cut to music by Jay-Z and Kanye West, among others, was released. Being one of the few books that had a profound impact on my childhood, I felt increasingly fearful of what was to come

Stylistically, Gatsby is a disaster on multiple levels.  Arguably, Luhrman is one of the few directors with the chutzpah to cut a 1920s period piece like a modern day trailer. Fade ins, fade outs, dissolves, jump cuts – all utilized tastelessly. Exacerbating this tacky trailer-like trimming is the irritating use of contemporary chart topping music, which purposefully screams black opulence…against the backdrop of a white 1920s cast: slight problem there? It is clear Luhrman wanted his soundtrack’s ostentatious themes to reflect the Roaring ’20s own vulgar display of luxury; sadly the link is so tenuous, that he should have had one or the other but not both. Or perhaps translated Gatsby into a modern day fable?

Moreover, the soundtrack is often employed unsubtly. Playing a cover of Beyonce’s Crazy In Love over a sequence where Gatsby decorates Nick’s house to impress Daisy is one cheap example of a hackneyed, saccharine sequence.

 

Mulligan is arguably one of Luhrman’s most uninspiring casting choices in decades: a terrifically, talentless excuse for an actress, she has not a single half-decent performance under her belt (no, Shame does not quite cut it). Next to the masterful DiCaprio, she crumbles.

DiCaprio, on the other hand, is the picture’s only saving grace: the man can do no wrong. Enough said.

The casting of Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachchan is perhaps the most ironic decision of all: the Indian superstar is famous for his grandiloquent, Bollywood roots which contain much melodrama, a trait which forms the basis of Luhrman’s oeuvre. Sadly, Luhrman overlooked a few crucial problems: Bachchan doesn’t really look that Jewish, nor does he sound it. No Baz, we’re not blind, neither are we deaf. But thanks for trying.

If you can stand the copious amounts of CGI, the kitsch approach to this Great American Novel and some truly appalling acting, perhaps check Gatsby out. See how far you get before you wish you were the one being run down by a car.

 

 

Stars - ★★

By Rehan Mudannayake

 

The Great Gatsby (2013)