1. The Imbalance Of Emotions
The Great Gatsby is a particularly emotional story - it is one of the classic love stories of the modern generation, and the resolution of Gatsby's personal story, as a reflection of the false promise of the American dream is just as poignant, in the original text, as the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. But for Luhrmann's vision, and probably because of his commitment to great love stories, that emotional journey is far better plotted and far more engaging than anything else, which means there is an enormous and near-fatal trade-off on the impact of the finale, and the tragic elements of the story. It's an odd development, considering how well Luhrmann handles the tragic elements of Romeo & Juliet and Moulin Rouge, and its one that badly crippled the resolution of Gatsby's story. We are left with a sense of the scale of his love for Daisy, and there are suggestions of his great hopes, but they are not married with a substantial enough tragic note, and his story fizzles out rather than exploding with grief as it should. The Great Gatsby is released tomorrow in the UK. Check out
my full Cannes review here.