Since the Robert Redford version in the 1970s was more or less a disaster, I wouldn't really consider it a remake if someone were to come along and do a straight adaptation of Fitzgerald's quintessential novel of the Jazz Age. However, Baz Luhrmann got the rights to the film and appears to be bringing his signature visual and anachronistic style to the project.
Before the trailer came out I can't remember a time I had been so excited for a movie without seeing the trailer. Why is that, you ask? Well probably the same reason everyone else is abuzz about the trailer: It's one of the greatest and most read novels in history and DiCaprio, one of the best and seems like a perfect choice for the titular character.
Once I finally saw the trailer I was overcome with such a mix of emotions, I don't really know where to begin. I suppose I'll start with Luhrmann himself, for he is probably the most stylistic mainstream director ever to walk the earth. I've only seen two of his films: Rome + Juliet and Moulin Rouge! and they were both decent, but had so many moments that just made me feel uncomfortable. With Romeo + Juliet for example, he took such a post-modern perspective with a barrage of colors, images, and music that it was overwhelming and the first five minutes felt like an extended trailer for a film. I would have called it a bad movie (due mostly to Benvolio, Mercutio, and Tybalt all being horribly adapted) were it not for DiCaprio's amazing performance as Romeo. With the exception of maybe The Aviator, I'd say it's his best ever. Nevertheless it's a film that you really have to get used to in order to watch it and it always bothers me that you have to do something weird with Shakespeare in order to get it watched by mainstream audiences. Nevertheless I saw Moulin Rouge!, Luhrmann's so far signature film, which was up for a bunch of Academy Awards and stuff. The visual style here served the film well because it was just a flashy musical, incorporating some things that never could have been done on stage. I didn't think it was a great movie, however, but a decent one. I also tried watching strictly Ballroom but turned it off after the first 10 minutes because I was horribly annoyed. I know you have to ease yourself into his films, but ultimately I didn't care that much; Romeo + Juliet was Shakespeare and I had heard great things about Moulin Rouge!, so I really wanted to see them.
Now on to the Gatsby trailer, released yesterday.
The first thing that struck me as odd was the music; did you ever expect to hear a Kanye West/Jay-Z song in an adaptation of an F Scott Fitzgerald novel? And I realize it's just in the trailer, but knowing Luhrmann, it's also in the film. I wish he would just make a straightforward adaptation of the novel. He could still get flashy with the visuals, showing the excess of the period, without going 3D (and yes, this film is in 3D) and using modern music. Sadly I don't think this jumped into the director's mind.
The next thing that bothered me was the narrator. It's Tobey Maguire. And yes, I knew Tobey Maguire would play Nick Carraway, but I was distressed to learn that months ago. Why? I'll put it simply: I hate Tobey Maguire. I think he's a terrible actor. I'm going off primarily one film when I say this, but he was so godawful in Spiderman that a decent performance in Seabiscuit can't win him any respect from me. There's just something about him; he's monotone, he mumbles, he looks kind of goofy. I don't know. But hearing his voice in his faux Midwest accent in the trailer just bothered me. He almost sounds like he belongs in Fargo, if you ask me. And yes, I'm from the Midwest, so I know what I'm talking about for once. Listen to him say the word "higher" or "bigger" and try not to laugh. What about the first thing he says? Is it "temper" or "tempo?" I don't know. What do you expect, casting a bad actor from Santa Monica to play a Minnesotan with ties to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin? This seems like a minor detail; I can't say for sure the character is completely ruined like Mercutio in Romeo + Juliet yet.
Now I'd be unfair to point out some good things about the trailer. The look of the film is what I'd expect, colorful and vibrant, both for a Luhrmann film and for an adaptation of the novel. The costumes and the sets look great. I like the part where Leo's tossing clothes down to Carey Mulligan, who also is cast perfectly. There is one point, however, where the car's driving down the road that looks a bit like a cartoon, and I guess I have mixed feelings on the New York skyline behind the bridge in the opening shot of the trailer, but for the most part it looks quite good. I just really hope this film has more of a basis in reality than Moulin Rouge! did. It worked in Moulin Rouge! like I said, but I don't think it would here.
And another thing I'd like to say is that I'm excited about DiCaprio. Yes, he's one of my favorite actors, and one of the better ones out there, but I'm really excited that he's not doing a stupid Boston accent for this one.
So despite my many complaints, I'll still be there in the theaters to see this on opening weekend, I'm sure. And while most of my complaints are about Luhrmann's style, that's not to say the film would not be a good one if it has his usual excess. I just don't think it would be the ideal adaptation that I would want to see. For instance, Romeo + Juliet is a good movie, but as far as actual Shakespeare adaptations goes, it doesn't touch the Branagh ones of the same period, because those stay truer to the feel and the setting, instead of just the dialogue.
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