The Great Gatsby: Review

Well, old sport, Gatsby isn't great, but it could have been a lot worse. The first half, with the flashy parties and all, is sort of fun. Leo is a convincingly romantic presence in the title role and Carey Mulligan, as Daisy, is as fresh as one (and also lazily sinister, which is right for the character). Tobey Maguire is the observer/narrator Nick Carraway. He reads some of Fitzgerald's prose in voice-overs, but his quiet monotone (which has been surprisingly effective at other times) doesn't begin to do those lovely words justice. (Did I mention that Gatsby is my favorite novel?) The biggest problem is the last 45 minutes or so. There's some violence in the novel, which Fitzgerald handles swiftly and elegantly. Of course, the movie's director, Baz Luhrmann, really milks that section for its melodramatic potential. Yuck! Still, he sometimes achieves something striking. Call it The Occasionally Almost Good Gatsby.