So much has been said and written about this film by Australian Baz Luhrmann, some of it pretty negative. Australians have a propensity to hate on Australian films and I think Baz attracts more than his share of the tall poppy syndrome.
So, is this film as much of a stinker as some of the critics are saying? (For example... here from Crikey and here from The New Yorker)
Whilst I wouldn't quite give it the 4.5 stars The Age did, I did really enjoy this film. It's bloody good fun and really easy to watch. You don't need to have read the book or know anything of the story, it stands alone well. It goes for almost 3 hours (including the ridiculously long trailer/ad part of the sessions these days) but you don't feel it, it all moves pretty quickly. I saw it in 3D but it wasn't overwhelming 3D like Avatar which managed to give me motion sickness!
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio ('The Great Gatsby' himself), Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan as well as two Aussies in fairly large roles, Joel Edgerton and Isla Fisher, who are both excellent. The cast more broadly is full of familiar faces as it was filmed in Australia - Jack Thompson, Steve Bisley and that guy who played Stan on Hey Dad! who now does voiceover on Media Watch, to name a few. (Yes I've been tracking his career, what's it to you?)
The costumes are stunning - I gather Carey Mulligan's dresses are a result of a collaboration between the film's costume designer Catherine Martin (who is also Baz's wife) and Prada.
I was a bit disappointed that the dance and party scenes shown in the trailers weren't longer in the film. Considering how much work has clearly gone into them - they are spectacular - I wish there'd been more to watch. I was also disappointed that the soundtrack wasn't showcased more. The executive producer of the soundtrack is Jay Z and it looks amazing on paper. It's a shame it wasn't allowed to steal a little more of the show in the film.
There was a couple of super cheesy moments that had my sympathising with the Baz-is-too-over-the-top critics. For example, in one scene Gatsby (DiCaprio) points to the starry sky and says "my life has to go like this" and a shooting star flies through the air. Urgh. Too much. But in spite of my few criticisms, I loved seeing this and would happily watch it again. A 3.5-4 star film for me.
Plot summary here and trailer here.
So, is this film as much of a stinker as some of the critics are saying? (For example... here from Crikey and here from The New Yorker)
Whilst I wouldn't quite give it the 4.5 stars The Age did, I did really enjoy this film. It's bloody good fun and really easy to watch. You don't need to have read the book or know anything of the story, it stands alone well. It goes for almost 3 hours (including the ridiculously long trailer/ad part of the sessions these days) but you don't feel it, it all moves pretty quickly. I saw it in 3D but it wasn't overwhelming 3D like Avatar which managed to give me motion sickness!
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio ('The Great Gatsby' himself), Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan as well as two Aussies in fairly large roles, Joel Edgerton and Isla Fisher, who are both excellent. The cast more broadly is full of familiar faces as it was filmed in Australia - Jack Thompson, Steve Bisley and that guy who played Stan on Hey Dad! who now does voiceover on Media Watch, to name a few. (Yes I've been tracking his career, what's it to you?)
The costumes are stunning - I gather Carey Mulligan's dresses are a result of a collaboration between the film's costume designer Catherine Martin (who is also Baz's wife) and Prada.
I was a bit disappointed that the dance and party scenes shown in the trailers weren't longer in the film. Considering how much work has clearly gone into them - they are spectacular - I wish there'd been more to watch. I was also disappointed that the soundtrack wasn't showcased more. The executive producer of the soundtrack is Jay Z and it looks amazing on paper. It's a shame it wasn't allowed to steal a little more of the show in the film.
There was a couple of super cheesy moments that had my sympathising with the Baz-is-too-over-the-top critics. For example, in one scene Gatsby (DiCaprio) points to the starry sky and says "my life has to go like this" and a shooting star flies through the air. Urgh. Too much. But in spite of my few criticisms, I loved seeing this and would happily watch it again. A 3.5-4 star film for me.
Plot summary here and trailer here.