Sunday, May 19, 2013

Leonardo is Believable as J, Gatsby

The wealthiest Americans indifference to the poverty surrounding them is a theme in the new “Gatsby” at theaters now.  None of the characters are likable in the latest adaptation of the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel “The Great Gatsby”
What is incredibly tacky is the music, with hip hop signaling the arrival of the African Americans and Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” when affluent whites are on screen.
The excessive party scene is overkill and reminiscent of a similar scene in “Moulon Rouge,” also directed by Baz Luhrman, an Australian.
The History Theater here is performing “This Side of Paradise” which has a reference to Fitzgerald’s disillusion with Long Island which may explain Gatsby.
The actress playing Daisy Buchanan whispers and mumbles so I need to get the DVD with closed captions to decipher that mess.  She also has two moles on the side of her neck which look strangely like vampire bites but I don’t recall her in any clinches with Ian Sommerfield or Paul Westerly on “Vampire Diaries.”
The movie is also available in 3-D but I don’t know why.
Leonardo Decaprio look like a leading man in this film as opposed to the sad sacks he played in “The Aviator” and “J. Edgar.”  He is believable as J. Gatsby.  It’s all an illusion.

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