‘Gatsby’: stellar cast, but serious missteps

The hype started long ago: Everyone’s expectations were high for Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s beloved American classic. The star-studded cast, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan,  looked promising and the score intriguing to say the least, with Luhrmann and Jay-Z as producers. 

Regardless of the fact that the movie premiered right in the middle of the AP testing fog, we made plans to arrive a full hour early to the movie “The Great Gatsby” to ensure good seats.  We were able to arrive early enough to get a perfect view in the dead center of the theatre. (We were first in line, no big deal.)  As we settled in with our X-Large ICEE and the opening credits began, we were optimistic that the movie would meet all of our expectations.

But we’re going to be honest: We weren’t crazy about the movie. It was OK, but much too forced in the way it highlighted the major symbols of the novel.

“The Great Gatsby” exaggerated arguably the biggest symbol in the novel: the green light on the edge of the Buchanan’s dock that Gatsby reached for, representing undying hope and persistence. This symbol was featured in the beginning and end of the movie and shown multiple times in between, just in case the viewer somehow managed to forget about it.

  Of course, having read the novel in English a month ago might have made us a little more sensitive to the symbol than, say, a viewer who had never read the book before, but still, there’s no need to shove a symbol at the audience to the point that it becomes tiring. The subtlety that makes the novel beautiful was lost on screen.

On the plus side, the cast was a success: DiCaprio, Maguire and Mulligan all embraced their roles and took us to the 1920s. Perhaps DiCaprio’s performance was the strongest as he kept the subtle mystique and strong faith that characterizes Gatsby. 

  The movie also succeeded in highlighting the lavishness of the parties during the time period. They went all out in portraying the raging parties with the fancy waiters, scandalous dancers and of course, copious drinking.  By clearly contrasting these all out parties with the poverty of the Valley of Ashes, the movie showed the extravagance of Gatsby’s way of life. 

The scene where Daisy Buchanan sees Gatsby’s house for the first time is a classic. DiCaprio and Mulligan represented all the carelessness and frivolity that their characters embody, particularly when Gatsby begins throwing his beautiful silk shirts around his mansion, reducing Daisy to tears. 

And oh goodness, the soundtrack. This was probably the best part of the movie.  The music was perfect for the events of the movie, playing off of the characters’ emotions to draw the viewer into the plotline and aid them in relating to the characters and their struggles.

Though some critics and viewers alike were skeptical of the ultra-modern take of the soundtrack, the tracks had a touch of ‘20s influence. This was most prominent in Emeli Sandé’s “Crazy in Love” and the intros on Fergie, Q-Tip and GoonRock’s “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody,” Bryan Ferry’s “Love Is the Drug,” and Coco O.’s “Where the Wind Blows.” 

Though some songs such as Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church In the Wild” didn’t so much as give a nod to the ‘20s, the way the tracks were used to reflect the mood of the scenes prevented the songs from feeling out of place.  

With regards to the symbols, the movie could absolutely be improved. It’s not necessary to make the green light so obvious; it just undermines its importance. Still, the movie was not without a good side. It’s just that the bad qualities needed to be taken down a notch, just like the green light.