Baz
Luhrmann's
lurid,
3-D
take
on
F
Scott
Fitzgerald's
The
Great
Gatsby
works
despite
itself.
Jay
Gatsby's
doomed
love
for
Daisy
Buchanan
is
in
danger
of
getting
subsumed
in
the
glitter
of
1920s
New
York,
which
unravels
in
a
montage
of
Charleston
and
chatter,
but
the
film
thankfully
finds
its
soul
just
in
time.
The
director
of
Moulin
Rouge,
in
familiar
territory
as
he
painstakingly
recreates
the
Jazz
Age
when
mammon
ruled
the
New
York
of
lofty
mansions
and
giddy
parties,
rescues
his
film
to
leave
behind
an
aching
loss
of
a
love
that
was
never
to
be.
It's
a
much-loved,
much-discussed
book.
The
enigmatic
fabulously
rich
Jay
Gatsby
(Leonardo
DiCaprio,
quite
wonderful)
who
hosts
heady
parties
and
the
callow
Daisy
Buchanan
(Carey
Mulligan)
with
her
wealthy,
not
quite
genteel
and
definitely
racist
husband
Tom
(Joel
Edgerton).
She
lives
in
East
Egg
and
he
in
West
Egg
across
the
bay
hoping
that
she
will
one
day
waltz
into
one
of
his
parties,
fabled
in
all
of
New
York.
They
were
once
in
love
but
she
gave
up
on
him
and
got
married
instead.
And
he,
now
rich
just
for
her,
waits.
And
waits...
Watching
from
the
sidelines
is
the
silent
Nick
Carraway
(Tobey
Maguire),
Daisy's
cousin,
through
whose
eyes
the
story
unravels
as
he
writes
a
book.
Till
the
interval,
their
story
seems
almost
lost
as
the
director,
it
seems,
concentrates
all
his
efforts
in
setting
the
backdrop.
The
filming
is
loud,
often
over
the
top.
Snowflakes
coming
at
you
through
3D,
pearl
necklaces
flying
in
wild
abandon,
words
from
Nick's
book
floating
in
the
air.
In
contrast
is
the
dark,
edgy
world
between
the
city
and
the
affluent
suburbs,
the
valley
of
ashes.
And
then,
just
when
I'd
about
given
up
finding
the
connect
that
I
had
been
looking
for,
this
gilded,
conflicted
world
comes
alive.
The
scene
at
Nick's
cottage
when
a
nervous
Gatsby
waits
to
meet
Daisy
after
five
years
is
very
effective.
Thanks
in
great
measure
to
DiCaprio,
whose
jumpiness
well
almost
jumps
out
-
and
not
because
of
the
3D.
Continue
to
read
The
Great
Gatsby
-
Movie
Review
in
slide
show.
The
Great
Gatsby
–
Movie
Review
The
pivotal
scene
at
the
Plaza
where
the
denouement
of
the
troubled
trio
plays
out
is
also
well
done.
Gatsby
pleads
with
increasing
urgency
to
Daisy
that
she
declare
her
love
for
him
and
tell
Tom
so;
Daisy
goes
from
certainty
to
confusion
and
Tom
from
appealing
to
her
to
confident.
The
shift
is
subtle
and
absolute.
The
Great
Gatsby
–
Movie
Review
I
watched
Robert
Redford's
rendition
of
Gatsby
many
moons
ago.
And
loved
him.
DiCaprio
as
Gatsby
comes
very
close.
He
is
in
command
as
always
and
manages
to
breathe
life
into
his
role
just
when
you
were
giving
up
on
him.
The
Great
Gatsby
–
Movie
Review
DiCaprio
said
recently
that
he
looked
at
the
film
not
as
a
love
story
but
as
a
man
"obsessed
with
a
version
of
the
past".
And
he
manages
to
convey
some
of
that
complexity.
The
Great
Gatsby
–
Movie
Review
Mulligan's
portrayal
of
the
shallow
Daisy
who
goes
for
security
without
a
second
glance
could
have
had
more
shades
in
it
and
Maguire
is
competent
as
Carraway.
The
Great
Gatsby
–
Movie
Review
But
the
best
for
the
last.
Amitabh
Bachchan
is
good,
very
good
as
Meyer
Wolfsheim,
Gatsby's
business
partner.
Fitgerald
had
envisaged
him
as
a
"small,
flat-nosed
Jew".
Bachchan
is
neither
small
nor
flat-nosed
but
leaves
an
impression.
The
Great
Gatsby
–
Movie
Review
Though
Bachchan
had
said
it's
a
blink
and
miss
role,
it
is
definitely
more
than
that.
He
lives
the
role
of
rakish,
wicked
Wolfsheim.
It's
a
commanding
presence.
The
Great
Gatsby
–
Movie
Review
Anil
Kapoor
as
the
rich
Indian
businessman
in
Mission
Impossible
4
was
frankly
embarrassing,
but
Bachchan's
portrayal
of
a
Jewish
businessman
does
open
up
possibilities
for
Indian
actors
looking
for
non-stereotypical
roles.
The
Great
Gatsby
–
Movie
Review
The
film
sometimes
unfolds
with
the
rapidity
of
comic
book
images
-
cars
zipping,
women
dancing
et
all.
And
the
3D
is
an
annoying
distraction
in
what
should
be
an
intense
retelling
of
age-old
relationships.
But
stay
with
the
film.
And
you
won't
regret
it.
Do
watch.