I didn’t watch the trailer for Baz Luhrmann‘s The Great Gatsby, but I did skim through it, just trying to see what it might have to offer. Personally, I think this is a film my expectations will be largely muted until I finally see it in theaters, because all I saw was a lot of Jack Clayton’s disappointing 1974 effort starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow through Luhrmann’s wonderful visual prism. Luhrmann’s ability to make an attractive feature is unquestionable, but Australia and Romeo + Juliet are not at all interesting as far as I’m concerned.
Then I wondered about the 3-D. Why? And with 3-D does that simply mean we’re going to get a whole bunch of CG environments?
What I really hope is that there is something about the way Luhrmann tells the story that clicks. This material, far more than Australia, opens the door for what he explored in both Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet, which is to tell the same story, but to do it with style. This goes beyond the visuals on their own, but instead to inject it with a few modern touches.
Being set in 1922 and using Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Watch the Throne” to kick off the trailer is the first step in this. However, once the final film arrives I’d like to see more of this, but not the actual songs, but rather remakes such as what they did in Rouge! And do it in such a way that it matches the setting and tone. I don’t want a Jay and Kanye rap in Gatsby, but perhaps a smokey jazz version, if possible, would be interesting.
This is just me thinking outloud, however, as this new photo above of Carey Mulligan as Daisy and Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby has just arrived via the film’s official Facebook page. I really want this film to be great, but I remain wary.
For more on the film, which will be one of two films starring DiCaprio along with Django Unchained to be released on Christmas Day this year, click here.
Oh, and here’s that trailer once again.
