Before I respond to this, I'd like to preface my statement by acknowledging the beauty of your post. The simple fact that it is not usually like you to offer thoughts on movies is a fantastic testament to the power of this film. There is a universal truth that great ideas create controversy, in that they force us to choose a side. Where you have fallen into negative review, I have seen it as a work of beauty that captured Fitzgerald's vision for Gatsby in a way that even his book could not. I'll address each part of your statement with my personal views, while also allowing others to make the decision for themselves as best I can. But thats the beauty of critiques, its all opinion :)
To begin: "It wasn't terrible, but it fell so short of its potential."
Did you enjoy the film or not? Was it terrible because your standards were too high? Or perhaps you did not allow yourself to be open enough to understand the director's vision? To what potential did it need to live up to? I digress.
"I tried my best to ignore the fact that it got poor reviews going in, but they were right."
Personally, I'm a believer that to listen to a critique before creating your own is an injustice to your viewing experience and shows distrust in your ability to form opinions. But hey, that's just me.
"The biggest mistake Baz Luhrmann made was employing the same fantastical style he used in Moulin Rouge. It completely distracted from the realism that made the novel so relatable."
This, my friend, is where I must disagree and assert my opinion. Is it wrong of Baz Luhrmann to be himself and use his own unique style? Why would he have been given the project if it was not his 'fantastical' style they wanted? To say that Gatsby was a realistic man is a clear tell that you did not understand his character and what Fitzgerald had in mind when he created him. Gatsby is a dreamer, a romantic, an idealist who believed he had the power of God. His ability to attract things to himself made him almost so out of touch with reality that he believed he could "play God". The 'fantastical' approach employed by Luhrmann was not only a great fit for the film, but a perfect fit. His burlesque depiction of Gatsby's lifestyle combined with the unnatural, almost cartoon like transitions from scene to scene capture Gatsby's vision itself in a natural, unforced way. The book was not meant to be a reflection of reality, but a vision of grandeur in which Gatsby was the master puppeteer and the film channeled this in a brilliant way.
"Also, how do you completely omit including Gatsby's dad?! He offered the most insight into Gatsby's character than anyone else in the book in my opinion."
Once again, you've misunderstood the character of Gatsby. He is a man of mystery and to say that one character gave the most insight into him is a slight to the sense of mystery and ambiguity that made him so powerful. No one "knew" Gatsby. In fact, Gatsby didn't even know himself and it is the reason that he gets into so much trouble in this book/film. Gatsby surrounded himself with great people and illustrious possessions with one purpose in mind: to attract Daisy and convince her to leave her husband to come be with him forever. He was so blinded by his love for her and his confidence that he could play the perfect set of cards to persuade her that he lost track of himself in a deep and horrifying way. A man of his caliber has a plethora of weapons and is so powerful that he can lose his way very easily. In Gatsby's case, Daisy was his undoing. The fact that the director omitted his father from the film shows that he understood Gatsby enough to give a new perspective on his character and that he was willing to break away from the book while still holding true to Fitzgerald's inspiring vision.
"Idk, it was just such such a great book and they had the budget to make this a respectable tribute to a great American novel, and they failed. Wait for it to come out on DVD."
And this, my dear friend, is why you do not do this often and should not be a film critic :) I agree, the book was great. I agree they did have a big budget. But I disagree that is was not a respectable tribute, and I believe it was spot on. Also, I believe it is one of the greatest American novels of all time, and the success of its transplantation into film was very well done and well deserved. And so yes, I will wait for it to come out on DVD. In fact, it couldn't come out soon enough.
Best wishes,
Korab
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Well, as expected this post elicited quite the reaction from my good friend, whom I have a deep respect for as a person. The fact that I can jab at him like this shows that we are close and can share our opinions openly and honestly without fear of retribution. Here is his humble response:
Hey,
Figured I’d respond in a more private way.
I did enjoy the film.
I didn’t ‘listen to a critique’ before I saw the film, I had just heard in passing from friends that it got poor reviews. I have no qualms about forming my own opinions.
Great, disagree. I’m sure it was his fantastical style they wanted, I just thought it detracted from a film. And I never said Gatsby was a realistic man. I said the novel was based in REALISM. Realism is simply a literary style “that attempts to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality, and avoiding artistic conventions, implausible, exotic and supernatural elements.” Nick was for the most part a neutral party who withheld all judgments, which allowed the reader to assume the events that took place in the novel were accurate and unbiased. It has nothing to do with who Gatsby is, and I find your comment that I didn’t understand his character slightly condescending, as with the overall tone of the blog post.
And in terms of Gatsby’s father, I thought the journal that he gave to Nick was crucial to understanding Gatsby's character. The daily routine that he outlined on one of the pages describing how he would do pushups and read books, and save 70 cents a week (or whatever it was), was such a great insight into his youth. I started my own daily routine just based on that and was disappointed it was left out of the movie.
The post was just my humble opinion on a movie which was based on a book I hold dearly. But don’t worry, I won’t be quitting my day job to be a film critic any time soon.
x
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