The Great Gatsby (2013)

A Midwestern war veteran finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbor.

Director:

Baz Luhrmann

Writers:

Baz Luhrmann (screenplay), Craig Pearce (screenplay),

Stars:

Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton

Won 2 Oscars. Another 41 wins & 51 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lisa Adam	...	Weeping / Singing Woman
Frank Aldridge	...	Well Dressed Male Witness - Wilson's Garage
Amitabh Bachchan	...	Meyer Wolfsheim
Steve Bisley	...	Dan Cody
Richard Carter	...	Herzog
Jason Clarke	...	George Wilson
Adelaide Clemens	...	Catherine
Vince Colosimo	...	Michaelis
Max Cullen	...	Owl Eyes
Mal Day	...	The Boss-Probity Trust
Elizabeth Debicki	...	Jordan Baker
Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Jay Gatsby
Joel Edgerton	...	Tom Buchanan
Emmanuel Ekwenski	...	Jazz Player
Eden Falk	...	Mr. McKee

Storyline

An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Long Island-set novel, where Midwesterner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await.

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Plot Keywords:

tragedy | party | mansion | reference to vogue magazine | optimism | 

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Taglines:

Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. ...I come to the admission that it has a limit.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Blog Official Facebook

Country:

Australia USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 2013 (Canada)

Also Known As:

El gran Gatsby

Filming Locations:

Sydney Polo Club, Richmond, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$105,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$50,085,184 (USA) (10 May 2013)

Gross:

$144,812,796 (USA) (16 August 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, A&E Television Networks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Leonardo DiCaprio wanted to play Jay Gatsby because he was drawn to "the idea of a man who came from absolutely nothing, who created himself solely from his own imagination. Gatsby's one of those iconic characters because he can be interpreted in so many ways: a hopeless romantic, a completely obsessed wacko or a dangerous gangster, clinging to wealth."

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Goofs

During the first trip to New York with Myrtle, Tom, Nick is watching a man play the trumpet on the fire escape. The music heard is played by a muted trumpet; yet, no mute is seen.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Nick Carraway: In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice. "Always try to see the best in people," he would say. As a consequence, I'm inclined to reserve all judgements. But even I have a limit.

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Crazy Credits

Jay Gatsby's flower symbol is shown throughout the credits with different letters in place of the 'JG'. The 3rd to last flower, preceding the music section, has 'JZ' in it (an homage to the film's soundtrack producer Jay-Z. The last flower has the movie's traditional 'JG' in it.

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Connections

Referenced in Anna in a Minute: The Jazz Age (2013)

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Soundtracks

Young and Beautiful
Written by Lana Del Rey (as Elizabeth Grant) and Rick Howels
Performed by Lana Del Rey

User Reviews

Famous scenes and symbolism re-imagined beautifully but also problematically

"In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. 'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'" I have been frequently convinced that Baz Luhrmann does not know how to read, but I do have the advantage of literacy. However, I am not Nick Carraway and am not compelled to follow his father's advice that opens Fitzgerald's classic novel "The Great Gatsby".

The first big problem with this movie version is that Tobey Maguire's Nick is not the same Nick that we know and love from the novel. This Nick is a quirky, agitated simpleton who has gone insane and has decided to become a writer. His voice and disposition was all wrong. Nick is no longer our credible vantage point into the selfish, boorish ways of the old money and new money of Daisy, Tom, Jordan and Gatsby in East Egg and West Egg.

Much has been said about the lavish style of the film's sets and imagery and even more about the ludicrous soundtrack. But it mostly works. I don't think anyone can deny that the unrestrained money, extravagant mansions, brilliant costumes and choreography with a lively score just make the whole story seem more fun.

I still have no idea what the point of the 3D was. Nick's bow-tie and the strange shooting style (mostly prominent early on) just made everything look cartoonish. At times, it looked like they were driving Gatsby's yellow car through the set of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". The cartoon- stylings mostly affected Nick; Gatsby's parties are always supposed to be at least slightly surreal.

Problems definitely arise in the beginning when Luhrmann chooses to use his typical flash editing and put some party scenes out of order. The randomness of it all and Nick becoming even farther removed from the narrator we once trusted, was only re-confirming that this was in fact the disaster many expected it to be.

But then we met Gatsby. And more importantly, we met Daisy. And even more importantly, Gatsby met Daisy. It is literally impossible to live up to the expectations about Gatsby – both the man built on wild whispers of him being a war hero, but also the literary character so ingrained in popular culture that he has earned the adjective "great" in front of his name. Leonardo DiCaprio does as good a job as anyone could reasonably expect of him. He drew me in, and since Nick couldn't do that, it was even more than I could ask of him.

One of the significant themes glowing throughout the novel is that of hope. Luhrmann even recognizes this with Nick referring to Gatsby as the singularly most hopeful man he has ever met. And then we would get a shot of the green light glistening off the water and through the fog from the end of Daisy's dock. The one thing missing from DiCaprio's interpretation of Gatsby was that earnest hope. I felt like a photographer on a model shoot: "Now give me a look of hope! No, that's anger. Give me hope! No, that's sadness. Give me hope! No, that's frustration. Fine, just give me another look of despair."

Gatsby yearned for Daisy. And so do we. Carey Mulligan's Daisy was probably the most accurate character re-imagined from the novel. Starting from her introductory scene where she lay on the couch and the wind rustled her white curtains and her diamond ring sparkled in the daylight and then she turned to stare at Nick, she filled the screen with her ethereal beauty and faux innocence. I don't think it's surprising that the film takes its best form in the scenes where it's just Gatsby and Daisy.

It's hard not to get wrapped up in the grandiosity of Gatsby, the grandiosity of the story, and the grandiosity of the film's visuals. It's a beautiful story and it does look beautiful on the big screen, but then comes the nagging suspicion that Luhrmann never actually read the novel. After all, half of the quotes are just paraphrased and are not the actual lines from Fitzgerald, and all of the scenes and famous imagery are only the ones that have seeped into the public consciousness (straight from the Cliffs Notes, perhaps). It should work well as a way to introduce another generation to this accomplished work of art, and I do applaud them for that, but it doesn't serve those who already know the book well.