Hunter S. Thompson once said that form time to time he would type out the whole of ‘The Great Gatsby’ just to see what it feels like to write the perfect novel. So how do you film the perfect novel? There have been four attempts that I know of. This is only the second that I have seen and with a week’s distance I am still not sure about it.
I should say that I share Thompson’s admiration for the novel. It is certainly among my favourites. Yearning for the unobtainable, unconquerable hope, the collapse of dreams, the triumph of style over substance - these are themes that can connect with people in every age.
Unfortunately, I think that latter theme could be applied to the movie itself. It’s obvious from time to time that the same director is in charge who made ‘Moulin Rouge’. I mean what is the point of having ‘The Great Gatsby’ in 3D?
Leonardo De Caprio is better than Robert Redford in the 1974 version. We have to remember that beneath the extravagant lifestyle Gatsby was a bootlegger and that wasn’t just about manufacturing and distributing illegal booze. People died in turf wars and also in the consumption of some pretty dubious brews. Leonardo brings out the dark side of Gatsby very well.
