All that glitters

I have a been busy/had writer’s block/I just wasn’t feeling like writing the last little while so I have stocked up on reviews. There are movies and books that I have to tell you about. And also on Thursday I am going to be at the “All Dahl’d Up” art show so maybe if you ask nicely you will get a review of that as well.

It seems that I have had some time freed up and the ability to put words on the page has returned to me. So let the reviews begin!

First, i was talked into seeing The Great Gatsby by a bunch of my girl friends. I wasn’t particularly interested in seeing it but I was very curious.

When I hear the name Baz Luhrmann I get excited. My mind goes back to Romeo and Juliet which starred the young Clare Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio. His retelling of the Shakespeare classic was visually arresting, had fantastic performances, and was simply over the top. But it worked. Everything and everyone came together on screen creating a wonderful work of art.

But that was in 1996, 17 years ago, and including this one, he has only released 3 full length films since.

There was Moulin Rouge which I flat out couldn’t watch. I like camp but at the start of the film when they break into a can-can version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” I had to stop. It somehow offended my senses. Then there was the catastrophe that was Australia. I must admit I have never watched it. I saw ads for it and was completely turned off. It seems like well funded trite and contrived nonsense. Even the poster is badly done.

And now there is The Great Gatsby. There is nothing great about it. With the funding, cast, costumes, soundtrack, and reference material this should have been good; fantastic; glorious even. But it wasn’t. The elements were there but in every aspect it seemed to fall very short of it’s target.

The main cast are gifted actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Isla Fisher, Joel Egerton. Their performances in other films have garnered them respect from critics, the Hollywood elite, and the general public. But as an ensemble they lack the chemistry to make this epic tragic love story believable. I don’t buy into the longing that exists between DiCaprio and Mulligan when they are together. But when apart i.e. when Gatsby and Daisy are finally about to reconnect and he is incredibly nervous, fidgety  and you become anxious yourself because you can feel what he is feeling. It is a wonderful scene. But those are so few and so far in between they get lost.

The Great Gatsby also suffers from really bad pacing. It is so drawn out that it becomes boring very quickly which leads to not caring about the story and characters. They don’t capture the audience. Even though there is supposed to be mystery about identities and motives it doesn’t exist or the outcomes easily predicted.

The film was beautifully shot with grand,

…lush scenes

that in stills capture the imagination and invite you to find out more.

But strung together they lead no where and somehow lose their gravitas. Making wondrous scenes filled with fireworks, booming music, dancing, confetti, beautiful people, mundane. You do not buy into the frenzy, you simply feel nothing.

Many reviewers and fellow movie watchers blame the film’s anachronistic style for its short comings. But I don’t think that is the issue. The juxtaposition between the Modern music with the 1920s aesthetic works for the most part. Yes there were points where it didn’t quite fit but that was has more to do with the song choice than the type of song. The affluence that the story is trying to encompass works well with the flawlessly produced tracks of current music royalty.

But they did manage to Gangster’s Paradise Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful” song. Yes I did use Gangster’s Paradise as a verb. The excessive use of it made that beautifully tragic ballad into a grating annoyance like a mosquito buzzing by your ear. The first couple of times it was acceptable but by the time the film was over I wanted to swat it away and leave me alone. It was like they couldn’t figure out what scene was to have the most impact so it turned into every scene had to have the most impact ruining the overall effect.

As I said before, The Great Gatsby could easily have been an amazing cinematic feat but sadly it failed. I can’t recommend this movie especially not in 3D as I sadly paid to see it.

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