The Cruelty Of Old Money

I was never a fan of Baz Luhrmann's movies - most of them were too avant garde and pretentious! But I have to admit that I was totally swept off my feet by The Great Gatsby.

After all the anticipation, the real thing dazzled me! It's not a traditional interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic, but I would not expect anything traditional from Luhrmann. It's one of those rare love-story dramas that was shot in 3D and the decadent parties, costumes and music as well as the ill-fated love story all play a part in dazzling the audience.

I couldn't help comparing Luhrmann's version with the older movie featuring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow although fortunately, Baz Luhrmann deliberately chose not to see the other version. The new one is so much better, mainly due to the brilliant performances of Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan as Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan respectively. A Botoxed-up DiCaprio is mature enough now to look and act the part of the charming yet tormented Jay Gatsby. And Carey Mulligan just plays the role of Daisy Buchanan to such perfection that you want certain scenes of hers to be frozen on the big screen!

Understandably, every actress would want to be cast as Daisy because she's so glamorous and yet so complex and vulnerable. I read that Carey Mulligan beat other renowned actresses such as Natalie Portman, Blake Lively and Michelle Williams primarily because of her kissing scene with DiCaprio in the audition. And to play this role, Mulligan has obviously shed quite a few pounds from her Shame days and looks absolutely picture-perfect in all the Prada dresses.

I would not expect any lesser performance from DiCaprio and Mulligan, but I thought Australian actor Joel Edgerton did an outstanding job as Tom Buchanan. I read that Ben Affleck was originally considered for this role but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts and Edgerton eventually beat out Bradley Cooper and Luke Evans. Tobey Maguire, who's best friend with DiCaprio in real life, is a talented actor but turns out to be very mediocre in his role as Nick Carraway, the narrator.

Apart from the acting and the direction, three things really stood out in the entire movie - the music, the costumes and the use of technology. You would not have imagined that hip-hop music would fit in with a story written in the jazz age, but surprisingly, Jay-Z's score works brilliantly. And what could be a better fit than Lana Del Rey's  melancholic voice?

The director's wife, Catherine Martin, who won two Oscars for her work in Moulin Rouge (another one of the husband-and-wife collaboration) would probably, once again, win two Academy Awards for Production and Costume Designs for this movie.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the novel in southern France and the story was set on Long Island, New York. Luhrmann, however, shot the entire film in Sydney, Australia, using many wonderful production sets and, of course, 3D filming and CGT wonders. This is such a cool movie that you would want to watch it many times, but what ultimately strikes me is not just the visuals. Luhrmann successfully conveys the tragic elements of Fitzgerald's novel - the cruelty of old money versus the nouveau riche; the unfortunate timings of the love story; and the failure in the pursuit of an American dream. It's not surprising that when I was watching this movie, another dark drama popped up in my mind - AMC's Mad Men. Both are beautiful, dark and brilliant works of art!