The two biggest complaints that the film is receiving is the use of modern music,and the super saturated visuals. However the problem with these criticisms is that they're invalid because both things serve to do an extremely effective job at conveying key themes in the book. The first; the use of modern music. Throughout the movie, as opposed to using period music, jazz form the 20's, Luhrman opts instead to use modern music, in the from of a soundtrack filled with hip-hop, dance music, and rap, produced by Jay-Z. Artists such as Lana Del Rey, Fergie, will.i.am, and Jay-Z himself , contributed to the soundtrack with songs inspired by central key ideas. The songs alone are good enough, but in context, improve not only the story, but the message behind it. I'll admit, the first time that the characters are at a party in Tom's apartment and
I Can't Stop by Flux Pavilion comes on, it is a little jarring; however you quickly get used to it. The reason it works so well, is not only because it adds to the sense of uproarious partying, but because it reinforces the idea that
The Great Gatsby is a timeless story. Although the novel is set in the 1920's, the ideas, and morals behind it are applicable to almost all times, especially in our consumerism driven world today. Had the film instead used period music, the movie would still have been an enjoyable one, but it would have lacked an extra level of meaning. The other common source of criticism is that the hyper-stylized visuals are often over the top, and give the film an artificial look. Personally, I enjoy practical effects more than computer generated glam. However, when CGI is used to improve the story, or add something new to it, I enjoy it. So, is the case with
Gatsby. Throughout the film, it appears that the majority of the background scenery is CGI. This, along with the use of slow-motion, super-saturated colors, and highly stylized images give the film a sense of artificiality. Now, normally, this would turn me off of a film instantly, yet with this film, it got me even more attached. It did so because it works brilliantly with a central idea of the original novel. One of the ideas that Fitzgerald's novel focuses on is wealth, and the way in which it can sometimes lead to superficiality and artificiality. Everything around the characters, the world of the novel, the parties, the drinking, the spending, is all fake, and empty. So, the fact that the world around the actors, and their characters, looks fake, works wonderfully. It enforces the idea that all the debauchery that these people take a part in, contributes to the synthetic world around them. The only true thing in the story is the emotions that link the characters, such as the love between Gatsby and Daisy, and the friendship between Gatsby and Nick, which is enforced, in the film, by the fact that the only real looking things are the actors and their interactions. Baz Luhrman's style is not for everyone. He tends to be heavy-handed on glitz and glam, and focus on doomed love. It doesn't always work, as with the case of 2008's
Australia. However, sometimes his signature style fits a film stupendously. In this case, it not only fits it, serving to create a faithful adaptation, but enhances it, allowing the film to be more meaningful, transferring ideas from the book, ingeniously through visual and auditory style choices. Before this film, it seemed like we never get a great adaptation of the novel, yet all it took was a little hard work. We just needed to push on, boats against the current. Fitzgerald once said: "Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat." The page to screen adaptation of this story has seen its fair share or defeats, but I think finally, it has seen victory.
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