Dustin: 3.5/5 stars Nick: 2.5/5 stars Average: 3/5 stars (Woozy canary)
Dustin: First off, I’ll just say that I’ve never really been in love with The Great Gatsby. I thought it was a good book, but the story never resonated with me, and I remember the style more than the substance.
Nick: I recall feeling emotionally attached to Nick Carraway as we are very similar, but the book’s style is what stuck with me as well.
Dustin: So would you say it was appropriate to go with a totally stylistic approach for this film?
Nick: It works in the sense that Gatsby is a total facade and all the parties and craziness that are going on are shown in a visual manner.
Dustin: I had mixed feelings about the visual style. I liked that the shots were very vivid and exciting, but Luhrmann relied too heavily on CGI, which made some shots look too cartoonish.
Nick: Example?
Dustin: There were a lot of shots moving over New York that were clearly CGI and looked fake. So I had some trouble suspending disbelief. There was another shot showing a car full of flappers riding to Gatsby’s party. The car was full to overflowing and several women are almost thrown out. It looked like something out of The Hobbit.
Nick: Gatsby’s parties were all so mechanical in the way they were staged. They came off as choreographed rather than real affairs.
Dustin: They kind of looked like a rap video. And that brings me to the movie’s soundtrack, which was intentionally anachronistic. What did you think?
Nick: I feel that Luhrmann has a great appreciation for old culture and new culture and likes to blend them together. While interesting, it took me out of the film. Too much Jay Z!
Dustin: Yeah, Jay Z had no business being in The Great Gatsby. I had mixed feelings on the soundtrack too. I mostly felt it was too modern and hip. From an artistic point of view it helped a modern audience get a sense of the decadence and superficiality of the 1920s, something that would be hard to evoke with a period soundtrack. But like you the soundtrack took me out of the film. Still, it wasn’t as offensive as the rap song in the animated Titanic, which no one should ever fucking watch.
Nick: Do you remember the scene in Spider-Man 2 where Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is asked to take pictures at the gala for J. Jonah Jameson’s son and in the scene he tries to get a drink from a passing server’s tray but someone grabs it before he does? No? Well, the exact shot is in this film.
Dustin: Do you appreciate Easter eggs like that?
Nick: Well, I’m probably the only one who noticed that Tobey Maguire can’t get a fucking drink, yes.
So back to the movie. I feel a strong emotional attachment to the character of Nick Carraway (not just because his name is Nick) and his idolization of Gatsby but it wasn't able to capture Carraway's bewilderment at the way people treat each other.
Dustin: This movie seems to suffer in comparison to the book, which I think would only be natural given how beloved the book was. Do you think it’s even fair to compare the two? Or do you think the movie can be appreciated for its own merits?
Nick: I rarely believe in comparing a movie to the book it was based on. Two different art forms, two different outcomes. I only think it’s fair to compare if the movie takes the name of the book but has changed so much of the plot that it’s not recognizable ala I Am Legend.
Dustin: So you wouldn’t agree with of the hipsters who say this movie desecrated a monument?
Nick: Never. It had the heart of Gatsby but it was so torn between telling a faithful adaptation and having the entertainment stylings of a big blockbuster that it got lost somewhere.
Dustin: It would be hard to have it both ways. There are already several straight-forward adaptations out there, so I don’t mind if a director wants to go out on a limb with the material this once. Would you recommend it?
Nick: No. It’s over two hours long and becomes pretty exhausting. Leonardo DiCaprio gives a fantastic performance of a character who I never thought could be brought to life and the costuming was superb. Lots of fantastic elements that never become cohesive.
Still, there was a lot to like about this movie. My favorite scene was Carraway going to the poor part of town for the first time and getting drunk for “his second time.” I really enjoyed the way it was shot with the adjacent building looking in and the saxophonist playing a tune as if it was meant for them. It is also where Carraway delivers his line of being “within and without.”
Dustin: I thought it was a fresh take on the novel. I think anyone who compares it harshly to the novel is just trying to sound intelligent by pointing out that they’ve read “literature.” So I would recommend it for that reason.
I guess you could say it’s a Pretty Good Gatsby, but not a Great Gatsby.
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