'The Great Gatsby' Lacks That Special Something

In dreams, there are hopes, expectations, and anticipation.  The anticipation keeps the excitement alive, just as it did for Jay Gatsby who awaited the reunion with his love, Daisy Buchanan.  And just as it did for me as I waited more than six months for the release of Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. 

But what happens after the dream is realized?  Do we not sometimes discover the dream was better than the reality?   

Just as Gatsby’s reality with Daisy did not turn out as expected, my reality with the film did not live up to all I hoped and dreamed.  Maybe I expected too much; maybe Luhrmann waited too long to release his film, creating anticipation impossible to fulfill.  Whatever it may be, Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby took too long to convey a message author F. Scott Fitzgerald got across in fewer than 200 pages.  

The story is narrated and authored by Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire).  He recalls the summer of 1922, when he moved to New York’s West Egg district as a bonds salesman.  It was there he met Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), a new millionaire whose life remains a mystery for much of the story.  

Nick’s cousin, Daisy (Carey Mulligan), and her husband, Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton), live lavishly in the East Egg district, where those of “old money” reside.  A short while after meeting Gatsby, Nick learns that him and Daisy were in a relationship five years back and ever since it ended, Gatsby has pined for his lost love.  Gatsby has Nick arrange a reunion and the story goes on from there.

It’s not a love story. It is a tale of a dreamer in the 1920s whose dreams get the best of him and lead to his eventual death amongst the strain of social classes and his desire to repeat the past.  For the sake of audience approval and movie magic, I expected Luhrmann to really play up the love story aspect and was pleasantly surprised he did not.  

Luhrmann carried Fitzgerald’s message by depicting disgustingly lavish lifestyles, snobbery to the ultimate degree, and a man so set on achieving a dream that he ignores the reality in front of him.  He set the film to modern music, stylized it with extravagant costumes, and demanded over-the-top acting, just as he did with his 1996 version of Romeo + Juliet.  It all worked for The Great Gatsby.  The message was not as strong as the words Fitzgerald wrote, but I don’t expect any Hollywood blockbusters, especially those in 3-D, to be intellectually stimulating or thought invoking.  What did not work in the film was the amount of time Luhrmann took to tell the classic tale. 

I got bored in the middle, wondering when oh when the day would come of Myrtle Wilson’s (Isla Fisher) fatal end, whom was Tom’s mistress.  That day would mean Gatsby’s end was near, signifying only a few minutes until the end of the movie. 

I don’t blame the acting, which was sensational and worth the 143 minutes I spent in my chair.  DiCaprio provided the hope and charisma Fitzgerald wrote into Gatsby’s character and Maguire put a face to the reflexive and naive spirit of Nick Carraway.  I wanted to hate Mulligan’s character just as I did with Daisy when I read the book and Edgerton played the pompous jerk better than I expected him to.  Plus, as I mentioned earlier, they all brilliantly outdid themselves in true Luhrmann form by drawing out the key aspects of their characters and exaggerating their most despicable, or in some cases lovable, traits. 

I just wanted more.  More excitement?  More action?  I am not quite sure myself, but it lacked that special something; that hope and excitement I anticipated just a few months ago.  

It happens to me with every trailer that includes stimulating music and exciting scenes.  I put the movie on a pedestal and impatiently wait for its release, never learning from the past that increased expectations lead to major disappointment.  But I beat on, as Nick says, like a boat against the current.  I hope one time my expectations will be met, but am forever borne back ceaselessly into the past.   

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