Friday, September 20, 2013

The Great Gatsby


TheGreatGatsby2012Poster.jpg

I watched this movie last night from the comfort of my bed, and was a bit disappointed.  While it was certainly visually beautiful in a campy, grand sort of way, it fell short of expectations.  It simply never came to life.  Most of the characters seemed caricatures of themselves rather than real people, especially Joel Edgerton as the character of Tom Buchanan who was simply too hideous to be believable.  As the main character, Dicaprio tries real hard but he only succeeds in getting on our nerves with the trite expression "old sport" which he uses ad nauseum throughout the entire movie.  Carey Mulligan never demonstrates why she was able to inspire such a lifelong passion on Gatsby.  She seems frightened, out of her element and a little waif in a role that demands "allure and a certain femme fatale" quality.  That said, she looks a lot like Michelle Williams but with none of the depth, radiance and chameleon quality Miss Williams has already shown transforming herself.  Tobbey Maguire as Nick is also a caricature, and I found myself simply enjoying the scenery, the dresses, the sumptuosity of the era and not getting into the story at all.  I'm sure Scott Fitzgerald never intended for that to happen and that's why his novel has stood the test of time.  This movie for all its pretense and arrogance certainly doesn't.