Movie Review: The Great Gatsby

At the height of the Roaring Twenties, young Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) takes up residence in a shack in one of New York state's wealthiest areas. Nick knows only two people in the area, his flighty cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) and her brutish husband Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Through this association, he becomes aware of the legendary parties that take place next door in the estate of the mysterious Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). When Nick is invited to one of these parties, he becomes acquainted with Gatsby and finds himself swept up in a lifestyle more lavish than he could have ever imagined. But Gatsby has an agenda and after setting up a meeting between his new friend and Daisy, he finds himself caught in the middle of a tangled in a deadly web that may destroy everything around him.

I have been struggling with how to review The Great Gatsby since I saw it on opening night and I have finally come to the final conclusions:

1.) This novel is one of my very favorite literary works and in some regards this film brought a bit of it to life; 2.) Baz Luhrmann does not make films for me and as such, I was predisposed to disliking his vision for The Great Gatsby; 3.) There are parts of this film that I actually really liked but the more I think about it, the more I have come to the conclusion that they are all taken directly from the source material and therefore have less to do with the actual film itself than my aforementioned love for the novel; 4.) I don't think this movie is very good; 5.) I get why other people do think it is very good.

In the interest of fairness, let me start with the positives. Luhrmann put together an impressive cast filled with a number of people I really like (and Tobey Maguire too!) and while I don't think any of them give an awards-caliber performance, most of them are pretty solid, DiCaprio in particular. I very much enjoyed the use anachronistic music in The Great Gatsby and I don't always feel that way about a Luhrmann film. And as mentioned above, there are a few scenes in this film that are taken almost directly from the page and the translation is such that it reminded me just how much I really do love F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing. 

Beyond these "pros", however, I found a lot of faults within The Great Gatsby. For one thing, I was thoroughly underwhelmed by the "spectacle" of the film and this caught me completely off guard. I do not particularly care for Moulin Rouge or Romeo + Juliet but I cannot deny the visual beauty of those films. I was sorely disappointed on that front here. I found the set design to be uninspiring, the costume and makeup to be only adequate, and the actual look of the film to be downright ugly. I was not swept away into the Roaring Twenties the way I needed to be to enjoy this film. I hated the hazy, out of focus way in which many of the scenes were shot and I'm not sure if this was purposeful or if this was the result of seeing a 3D movie in 2D but regardless, it was unappealing. And while the first half of the film at least has a solid energy to it, the back half is quite honestly boring (and again, I say this as someone who has a great affinity for this story). All of the grandiose, classic Luhrmann style is contained in the first hour while the second and third act are a slough to get through. I can't believe that I'm saying a Luhrmann film was too stoic and not nearly as overwhelmingly flamboyant as it needs to be but...well, that's the shocking truth.

These complaints would probably be enough to turn me off from this film but Luhrmann's translation of the novel also leaves something to be desired. He missed badly on Daisy, turning into a truly sympathetic character instead of showing her as the manipulative shrew she is in the book. Moreover, far too much about Jay Gatsby himself is given up or hinted at too strongly so early in the film that the final reveal of who he really is falls flat. The impact and the tragedy of his reality is not nearly as crushing as it should be. The mystery of Gatsby is what makes the novel so great and when you strip that away, the narrative suffers greatly. As such, I can only say that while the novel should be considered required reading for literally EVERYONE, this film version of The Great Gatsby holds little value for me. Grade: C (Rated PG-13 for some language, sexuality, and dramatic themes)

In Home Viewings: The Odd Life of Timothy Green

Synopsis: After being told that they will never be able to conceive, Jim (Joel Edgerton) and Cindy Green (Jennifer Garner) return home with heavy hearts. To deal with their grief, the couple starts describing their perfect child and dotting down their hopes on post-it notes which they ultimately collect and bury in their garden. During the night, a freak storm rolls by their house and the Greens awake to find a 10 year old boy named Timothy (CJ Adams) in their home. After the initial shock wears of, Jim and Cindy begin to realize that Timothy is the embodiment of their hoped-for child and come to understand that his purpose is much greater than it initially seemed. What I Liked: I initially stayed away from The Odd Life of Timothy Green because, with my wife and I having gone through a miscarriage earlier in the year, the material hit too close to home. When I finally got around to checking it out, I was impressed by the direct but sympathetic tone the film took in regards to the struggles of the parents. It isn’t overdone nor does force feed fake emotions to the viewer and instead these issues are presented in an honest, natural way from the beginning and that carries over through the rest of the film. As such, Edgerton (of whom I am quite fond) and Garner bring their characters to life with strong subtlety, striking the right balance of hurt, wonder, and determination to make their family work. While both provide solid performances, I felt Edgerton’s was the driving force of the film, though my bias toward him as an actor may have swayed that opinion. Adams, too, gives a strong portrayal and handles the somewhat difficult material with skill beyond his years. The narrative of Timothy Green is generally sweet and appropriate for the overarching story.

What I Didn’t Like: While not the main focus of the film, one of the secondary subjects of Timothy Green is the way in which Timothy affects the lives of those around him. That’s all well and good but in the process of painting the picture of what kind of help the supporting characters are in need of, the film grinds to an absolute halt. Virtually every character outside of the three leads is a one-dimensional, borderline unbearable caricature of a given trope that needs to change. The overbearing, often absent father/grandfather (David Morse); the obnoxious aunt (Rosemarie Dewitt) who brings everyone around her down in order to build her kids up; the lazy boss (Ron Livingston) who tries to steal ideas from the Green family. It’s nice that Timothy tries to help those around him but all of these supporting characters are insufferable from the very beginning to the point that you honestly don’t want to see them improve as people. If Timothy could have helped his parents realize that everyone around them is a miserable jackwagon and that they should move to another state and never look back, I would have enjoyed Timothy Green far more.

Verdict: It’s not flawless and there is a certain oddness to the story as a whole that might turn off some viewers. But overall (and in spite of the BRUTAL supporting characters), I found The Odd Life of Timothy Green to be a touching family film that is worth your time.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green Director: Peter Hedges Cast: Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Garner, CJ Adams Rated: PG (mildly adult themes, possibly a little language) Recommended For: Families with kids 6+