Distributor: Warner Bros. Studios
Opening Weekend Box Office: #2 with $50,085,185
Domestic Box Office Gross to-date: $96,257,089
Gross Revenue: $138,357,089
Production Budget: $105 million
Director: Baz
Luhrmann
With Hollywood focusing on visiting the worlds of
angst-filled vampires and government-sponsored adolescent bloodbaths, mass
audiences had likely forgotten the feasibility of an adaptation built on classic
literature. Enter Baz Luhrmann, the Moulin Rouge director with an
aptitude for opulence and extravagance, who was charged by Warner Bros. to
reunite with his Romeo + Juliet prodigy in order to resurrect the
character of Jay Gatsby and bring his story and social commentary back to the
limelight. Having read the admittedly tame novel back when I was in high
school, I was impressed with marketing efforts detailing how the slow-paced
story was now infused with energy and considerable charisma…not many were going
to spring for the 3D glasses, but the soundtrack featuring everyone from Jay-Z
to Fergie was more than enough to keep even the most skeptical of moviegoer
interested. There have been many cinematic recreations of this insight
into The Roaring Twenties over the years, but by all appearances, this entry
would finally be able to establish the tale as a legitimate blockbuster
destined for more prominence than mere classroom discussion. The
big-budget romantic drama may have felt a little out of place alongside the
established blockbuster sequels that usually inhabit the start of the Summer
Movie Season, but with the perfect casting of familiar faces like DiCaprio, and
Maguire, The Great Gatsby was going
to find an audience, especially amongst those who didn't necessarily
want to spend Mother’s Day Weekend watching a superhero.
The narrator of The
Great Gatsby is Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), a young bond salesman who
moves to the Long Island village of West Egg in the summer of 1922; though Nick
has acquaintances across the bay in the form of his cousin Daisy Buchanan
(Carey Mulligan) and her husband, Tom (Joel Edgerton), the young Midwesterner
is most intrigued by his mysterious next door neighbor. The mansion next door is owned by the newly-rich
Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), a charismatic gentleman who holds insanely
lavish parties and quickly befriends Nick in order to ask for a rather odd
favor. It turns out that Gatsby once
shared a romance with Daisy in his youth and now wishes to rekindle the romance
with Nick’s help, a task made easier by the fact that Nick is made aware of Tom’s
own infidelity with another married woman, Myrtle Wilson (Isla Fisher). Though Nick initially enjoys all the parties
and extravagance, especially alongside his new love interest Jordan Baker
(Elizabeth Debicki), he soon notices how Gatsby earnestness and positive
outlook contrasts sharply with the shallow priorities of the other members of
the upper class. As the mystery of
Gatsby’s past and the source of his wealth come to light alongside the numerous
infidelities of the Buchanan family, the glamour of the Roaring Twenties soon
fades into a world of moral decay and emptiness, one that conflicts with the
very notions of love and friendship that our protagonists have always admired.
As anyone who ever had to write a paper on the
original novel in high school can tell you, the central story of The Great Gatsby is anything but a
thrilling joy ride, but thanks to ambitious production design, sharp direction,
and smooth acting, Baz Luhrmann is able to infuse the classic tale with
considerable energy. The central themes
of the book involve extravagance and opulence, so in retrospect, Baz Luhrmann
was the perfect visionary to bring those notions to life; the beauty of the
mansions, the immersive nature of the parties, the attitude of the music…it all
works together brilliantly to keep the audience hooked. And in terms of casting, there isn’t one
misstep amongst all the choices; Mulligan is flighty, Fisher is naïve, and
Edgerton is downright reprehensible...personalities identical to the original
characters. However, despite being a
romantic drama, the strongest relationship within The Great Gatsby is undoubtedly between DiCaprio and Maguire; Leo
may not get the Oscar he has always hoped for, but the chemistry between the
different personalities of the longtime friends shows through and is easily the
most enjoyable dynamic of the film.
Adding it all together, The Great
Gatsby is a remarkably strong film, but it is one whose full enjoyment
requires the viewers to have appreciated and fully understood the deeper
undertones of the book.
If there was one consistent quality about the
required readings of literature courses, it was that each book be filled to the
brim with metaphors, symbolism, allusions, and foreshadowing; while many books
stretched to convey depth, The Great
Gatsby had some truly brilliant undertones that didn’t necessarily
translate from paperback to silver screen.
That is not to say that the filmmakers ignored the academic undertones,
but unless you understood and remember the discussions from your classroom days,
the focus on these elements feel out of place and strange. So, needless to say, if the original book
doesn’t represent one of your fonder literary memories, you may not enjoy the
film much beyond the novelty of seeing DiCaprio onscreen with off-the-charts panache. If such is the case, don’t worry, because
even though the 3D technology wasn’t necessary and a few entries of the
soundtrack feel out of place, it is still enough to make the end result
interesting and worth seeing. To put it
simply, there may be one qualifier that prevents The Great Gatsby from being the game-changer that Warner Bros.
would have wanted, but from a sheer filmmaking perspective, there is nothing
weakening this film.
In terms of box office numbers, absolutely no one
had any delusions of Jay Gatsby taking down Tony Stark, but Warner Bros. has to
be happy with a rare and albeit impressive 2nd place haul of over
$50 million. Add that to the positive
word of mouth and a surprisingly strong foreign presence, and The Great Gatsby has already recovered
its substantial production budget and is currently chipping away at marketing
expenditures. All things considered, I
still feel that Gatsby would have
dominated the Holiday Season box office, but thanks to considerable star power
and clever marketing tactics, a financial disaster was averted. And like I mentioned earlier, DiCaprio’s
performance may not have been Oscar worthy, but the man’s continued showcases
of talent make the elusiveness of that golden statue all the more
baffling. If you are looking for a
thoroughly creative drama, or simply want something different from the popcorn
blockbusters, then you cannot go wrong with The
Great Gatsby.
Overall
Recommendation: High
