Four Notable Moments In The Great Gatsby

By Victoria Pietrus in Arts & Entertainment on May 13, 2013 6:00PM

Image courtesy Warner Brothers Studios.

Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby was a full-figured, Big Top circus of lighting, drapery, glitter, drama, and architecture. The reviews of this film are all over the place—from mostly unimpressed to confident acclaim, this is a film that features several notable scenes worth anticipating. (Note: This article contains spoilers, so if you are one of those so-called “Americans” who hasn’t read it , you may want to get with the program. American dream! Class consciousness! Leonardo DiCaprio! USA!)

1. First we have narrator Nick Carraway’s (and maybe for real somehow still fresh-faced Tobey Maguire’s) first real exposure to the greed and lack of moral concern rampant in the Roaring Twenties. One-dimensional floozies led by Myrtle Wilson (Isla Fisher) lure our young, financier (or writer—this ambiguity has an implied sense of humor that wasn’t really successful) into a haze of drunkenness and fuzz. Thinly mustached Joel Edgerton as pig-like Tom Buchanan is king in this scene, and his brutality and machismo are duly represented via his abrupt abuse of his paramour and complete lack of sensitivity given he is cheating on his wife in front of her cousin. Gross, and fascinating.

2. The next noteworthy scene is the crème de la crème Baz Luhrmann signature work: Our introduction to Gatsby’s parties through Nick’s innocent eyes. So much glitter and anachronistic music! I don’t care what anyone says—it’s cool and somehow badass, even though glitter should not accomplish this. These are the most colorful and bombastic scenes where 3-D does much to enhance the garishness and fun.

3. Once Gatsby finally lures Daisy (Carey Mulligan) to his home to re-ignite their five-year long passion, he strolls her around his outlandish compound/castle as she dips into the pool and looks fabulous in various outfits (somehow). The best part of this scene is where he really seduces her by throwing his expensive clothes at her and yells vehemently about how he has a fancy guy to pick out his clothing on a regular basis. Is this really sexy? It sounds kind of ridiculous and quite honestly demoralizing to not be able to pick out your own clothing, but Daisy is awed by his wealth and extravagance. To each her own. Unfortunately, Nick is voyeuristically present throughout these blithe love scenes, and I don't like it. This is their reunion, for God's sake. Must he creep about?

4. The sequence of death scenes (first Myrtle, then Gatsby, and lastly brilliantly acted Jason Clarke as cuckolded George Wilson) are terrific. The darkness of these scenes is a smart contrast to the ridiculousness and obscenity throughout the previous parts of the film. This book is ultimately about neuroses and superficial emotions packaged in obsession and selfishness. These scenes are suspenseful and do much to evoke the tragedy and pain inherent in the hopelessness and inequity in our society and notably present themes throughout the book. Whoa. Did this really go there? It did. My apologies. I promise not to be literary anymore.

There is plenty to malign in this film. Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker was boring. Amitabh Bachchan as Meyer Wolfsheim was confusing and awkward. Tobey Maguire is for some reason in an insane asylum, a liberty and plot structure designed probably to have this film make more sense to the average reality TV-obsessed American who hasn’t thought about this book since it was forced upon him or her in high school. The over-emphasis on showcasing the book's symbols is topical and heavy-handed. We get it. The green light is symbolic and important. However, DiCaprio as Gatsby lived up to what you think it would—the larger-than-life actor sparkles in his ability to capitalize on the psychology and single-mindedness of Nick Carraway’s hero. These scenes mentioned are well done and worth seeing—especially in 3-D.