Day 306: The Great Gatsby (2013)

2949000564366_p0_v1_s600Now this is a great Great Gatsby.

I’m not even a fan of Baz Lurhmann, who directed this 2013 adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. Lurhmann is a hyper-kinetic director whose style often becomes a distraction.

You see, that’s my biggest pet peeve when it comes to movies.

When the director’s camera becomes another character in the film (for example, when hand-held camera work makes a movie so jerky one gets nauseous attempting to watch it), I immediately lose interest. I walked out of The Hunger Games for that very reason. It was impossible to watch.

In Lurhmann’s case, his fanciful, over-the-top settings, quick cuts, and boisterous music make movies I would never number among my favorites.

Except for this one.

This adaptation of The Great Gatsby offers the best Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), the best Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), the best Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), the best Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton), the best Jordan Baker (Elizabeth Debicki), and the best George Wilson (Jason Clarke).

It also offers the best acting, the most compelling cinematography, the best costumes, the best lighting, and the best narration of any of the previous three Gatsby adaptations.

Lurhamnn’s Gatsby is electric. It crackles with a palpable energy that permeates every scene.

In short, it is Continue reading