Movies from the Heart—The Great Gatsby

There have been not one, not two, not three, but four films of The Great Gatsby.Which is the best? Well, to my mind, the quintessential Gatsby film hasn’t yet been made.

I’d like to look at just the two most recent Gatsby films, from 1974 and 2013.

The 1974 film, written by Francis Ford Coppola, was a really good attempt at capturing the novel. But it didn’t quite come together, alas.

Take a look at the trailer.

This trailer is close to four minutes long and how much of the actual film did you see? Think about it. You heard a super evocative Irving Berlin song from the 20s—the period of the film—and you saw a series of still photographs while a narrator gave overly-flowery descriptions of the relationships in the film and Gatsby’s longing for Daisy and his attempts to win her over.

So I ask myself, why didn’t we see any actual scenes for the film with spoken dialogue? And I believe I have the answer. And while I don’t want to be mean, I think it’s the actors. I think both Gatsby and Daisy were miscast.

Now, I say this with a grain of salt because it’s hard to believe that Robert Redford couldn’t pull off any role given to him. And the lure of playing Gatsby was probably what brought him to the project, and in the mind of the studio—GOLD! Redford starring in the film!!

But Gatsby is a character driven by unrequited love, and it’s almost impossible to believe that Daisy wouldn’t go with him instead of staying with her husband, whom she actually doesn’t love. It’s also hard to believe that he would even be obsessed with someone as milk-toasty as Daisy.

And Daisy? Again, a total miscast. The idea that anyone would be that obsessed over Mia Farrow? Almost impossible to buy.

So in my mind, the casting did this movie in. As soon as the two main characters speak, the story doesn’t work.

But what about the 2013 version, written by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce? It was, perhaps, marginally better than the 1974 version, but not by much. Take a look at the trailer.

Like the 1974 trailer, music is used a lot in this trailer to evoke atmosphere, but at least here there’s some dialogue. But what’s the overwhelming take-away from this trailer? For me, it’s the spectacle of it—the sets, costumes, the absolute excess in recreating this area. It’s glitteringly beautiful, but it’s not drawing me into the story. I want a STORY that I can want to come watch.

The thing is, I always want a story. I believe film IS all about stories—not special effects, not costumes, not cool sets—and it’s only when that story is told well that I become a fan.

Next week, a romantic film that I’m totally a fan of—When Harry Met Sally.

Copyright © Diane Lake

03Nov24

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