The Late Gatsby: First Impressions

Last updated on: September 11, 2013 at 3:32 pm by Jeffrey Overstreet

The Late Gatsby: First Impressions 2013-09-11T15:32:07-06:00 Jeffrey Overstreet

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Okay, I’m very, very late seeing Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby.

I had looked forward to the film, as I became a Baz fan back when Strictly Ballroom became an audience favorite back in 1992, and I so enjoyed Moulin Rouge‘s flamboyant tribute to the superficiality and soul of pop music that I saw it five times in the theater.

But early reviews convinced me to make other movies a higher priority, and I put off the latest Luhrmann spectacle.

Well, now I regret that. To the complainers I say, “Yammer on, old sports.” I was mightily impressed by Gatsby.

It has something to do with the way Luhrmann marries music and imagery; with the propulsive, unyielding dreams exploding from his imagination; with the way he loves faces (and this movie is filled with wonderful faces); with his giddy love of dancing (and everything in this movie is dancing all the time). I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that The Great Gatsby plays like Moulin Rouge, Part II.

For today’s moviegoers, Luhrmann’s films are the equivalent of opera (“popera”?), with the soaring kaleidoscopic imagery and light taking the place of soaring voices. Opera has never been for everybody. But for a few of us — me included — the go-for-brokeness of it, the unapologetic and uninhibited enthusiasm of it, the seventeen-layer cakeness of it, has a particular magic.

Yes, I know, there are a lot of things that other artists could have done with this story that Luhrmann couldn’t do on his best day.

And yes, I too would have cast the parts a little differently. (I think somebody finally found a perfect character for the adult Leonardo DiCaprio to play. Tobey Maguire’s meekness serves him well as Nick. And Joel Edgerton has a great face and voice for a 1920s period piece. But I just don’t think Carey Mulligan, much as I love her. was right for this part. She’s got the look of beauty tainted by sadness and fear. But y contrast, Elizabeth Debicki stole every scene she was in, and almost stole the movie itself.)

But Baz Luhrmann, like Quentin Tarantino and Woody Allen and the Coen Brothers, has his own particular strengths and idiosyncrasies that ensure nobody else can make a Baz Luhrmann movie. He knows who he is, what he’s about, and what he loves. And he gives it all, every time, putting every last penny on the screen.

I’m glad he’s around.

Dare I, an English major, admit that this is my introduction to this story? It’s true. I read a lot of classics in school, but not all of them, and Gatsby‘s one of the big ones that got away. But if anybody was worried that Luhrmann’s vision would overwhelm the story, well… that didn’t happen.

I was actually moved by watching Nick Carraway’s turmoil; by slowly coming to understand and admire the “hopefulness” of Gatsby himself even as I recoiled at his excesses; by Daisy’s courageous willingness to tell the truth under pressure. And the thing I’ll remember most — the power of that alluring green light across the water, a symbol of the heaven that is always beyond our grasp if, indeed, we pursue it by grasping.

The story drew me in and kept me guessing to the end. It made me want to read the book.

Perhaps that’s the highest compliment I can give, in this case.

Blog

Film Reviews

Previous Post

September 10, 2013

With Gratitude for the Life and Work of Lee Hough

Next Post

September 13, 2013 Wings of Desire's Cassiel Takes Flight: Otto Sander Dies at 72

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Bloggers on "Through a Screen Darkly" Browser Coming Soon Endorsements Fiction Books Film Forum Film Reviews Inspirations Interviews Journal Kindlings Muse Movie buzz Music Reviews Non-Fiction Books radio Reviewers on "Through a Screen Darkly" The Auralia Thread Through a Screen Darkly Through a Screen Darkly - Bonus Materials Top 10 (or 20 or 100) lists Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 July 2003 May 2003 March 2003 September 1999

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Psalm is entirely focused on God's word, using each letter of the Hebrew alphabet?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Psalm 119 Psalm 23 Psalm 24 Psalm 51