I’ve never seen this version of The Great Gatsby.

Truth be told, I never knew this 2000 made-for-TV movie existed until I researched the subject for my 1095 Days project.

Mira Sorvino as Daisy?

Hmmm. Worth a shot.

Toby Stephens as Gatsby?

Toby who?

The cast isn’t the most remarkable I’ve ever seen:

Mira Sorvino … Daisy Buchanan
Toby Stephens … Jay Gatsby
Paul Rudd … Nick Carraway
Martin Donovan … Tom Buchanan
Francie Swift … Jordan Baker
Heather Goldenhersh … Myrtle Wilson
Matt Malloy … Klipspringer

But, then again, I just watched two other versions of Gatsby and they were lackluster even with a stellar cast. So I’m not going to turn up my nose at this movie. Not yet, anyway.

What I notice about this adaptation:

* Paul Rudd is a very young Nick Carraway.

* There’s much more narration in this adaptation than in previous versions of the movie.

* Mira Sorvino isn’t as airy as Mia Farrow, nor is she as spacey as she was in Woody Allen’s 1995 movie Mighty Aphrodite. She seems to bring a confidence and sophistication to the role that I haven’t seen yet in the previous two adaptations. But it’s a tightrope to walk. Sorvino’s Daisy doesn’t seem as manic as she is in the previous two adaptations. But Sorvino’s understated portrayal lacks spark. It’s like she pulled back too far. She should have left in a bit of the crazy.

* The iconic eyes that grace the billboard aren’t as noticeable. Or maybe they aren’t as blatantly played up. In this movie, the eyes are faded and frayed around the edges, crumbling on the side of the building by Wilson’s garage.

* Toby Stephens is less like Gatsby than Alan Ladd was in the 1949 version of the film. By comparison, Ladd was Gatsby incarnate. Stephens lacks the requisite charisma to pull off the role. The all important Gatsby-Daisy romance lacks chemistry. He’s a lightweight actor in a role that requires much more depth.

* This version of Gatsby seems to focus more on the characters of Nick Carraway and Daisy than it does Gatsby. It may be because of the frequent narration. Or the relationship between Carraway and Jordan Baker (played by Francie Swift).

* What accent is Mira Sorvino going for? Sometimes, she sounds vaguely British. Other times, she sounds a tinge Southern. Other times, I don’t notice much of an accent at all.

* If I hear “old sport” one more time I think I’ll scream.

I do like the narration in this version. The powerful, profound final sentence in Fitzgerald’s book rings out loud and clear:

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Any Gatsby movie that doesn’t end with that isn’t worth a damn.