Anyone at all familiar with director Baz Luhrmann and F. Scott Fitzgerald's heralded novel already know exactly what this version of "The Great Gatsby" is going to be. The parties are sumptuous and popping with color, the lifestyle of Gatsby is both seductive and intoxicating - often filled in by a modern day soundtrack that keeps the film forcefully upbeat. Looking at "Gatsby" along with "Moulin Rouge!" and "Romeo + Juliet," we're reminded that Luhrmann is a fairly brilliant visual stylist, and here he builds an interesting character with the help of another dynamic performance from Leonardo DiCaprio.
The problem is that, once the party if over and we head into the darker depths of the third act, it feels like there isn't much left to discover. It often looks real pretty and seems like it should be a good bit of fun, but it eventually sags under the weight of the drama and we realize that Luhrmann was directing a bloated music video instead of a worthy adaptation of a great novel.
The brilliance of Fitzgerald's story is its seemingly simplistic plot. Bond broker Nick (Tobey Maguire) moves to a lush Long Island neighborhood hoping to brush elbows with some of New York City's elite. He ends up with Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) as a neighbor - a millionaire playboy who has the life that everyone dreams of. He puts on parties that would make P. Diddy blush, filling his mansion with a grand decadence that points out how superbly successful he is at every possible turn. There are glitzy chandeliers and fireworks and an endless supply of champagne, symbolizing the mythical Roaring Twenties with a flair that is something to behold. For Nick, as well as the audience, it's like stepping into a dream carefully designed by decorators enjoying a limitless budget. Something is simply too good to be true.
Also in the mix is Nick's cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan), a beautiful woman married to the stern Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Perhaps lacking in depth, Daisy is also blown away by the extravagance of Gatsby's lifestyle, but she also has a history with Gatsby that undercuts the glamour. As the story unfolds, we realize that there is a lot more to Gatsby than the array of parties and luxury cars, a hidden sadness that Daisy stirs simply by being near him.
But Luhrmann's vision doesn't include a whole lot of subtlety, as there are lavish costumes and special effects to explore as he recreates Gatsby's version of 1920s Long Island. We know that there is a lot of story underneath the surface, but Luhrmann goes so far over the top trying to impress us with his own grandeur that we miss out on the opportunity to develop some of the deeper themes in the film.
Of course, we're supposed to be impressed by Gatsby's lifestyle - and it's hard not to - but the rest of the story seems to be beside the point. It doesn't take long for us to get the picture and to see with crystal clarity the larger than life image that Gatsby wants us to be consumed by, though the movie lingers in the fast lane, flooding us with sumptuous images long after the point has been driven home.
No matter the overall monotone of the film's first half, though, DiCaprio perfectly embodies Gatsby at every turn. DiCaprio has made a considerable effort to ditch the pretty boy image, but here he slips into Gatsby's flamboyant lifestyle with ease and it's hard to imagine another actor pulling it off with the same level of flair. Luhrmann requires DiCaprio to go far over-the-top to match the pace of the film, and he manages to rise above some campy dialog that would inspire some major chuckles if it came from a lesser actor.
Carey Mulligan is also superb as the misguided Daisy and points out that she just has one of those faces built for the cinema. Other roles have shown her versatility far more than in "Gatsby," but she makes us fully understand what has the great man so tortured. Together, DiCaprio and Mulligan have the type of chemistry that could have been used for a much better movie, pushing Tobey Maguire's mainly uninteresting Nick off into the shadows of irrelevancy.
Instead of painting a poignant picture of a conflicted narcissist, "Gatsby" gets so caught up in showing the glitz and the glamour that the rest of the story seems like a letdown. While the novel suggests a satire of the lavish lifestyle, Luhrmann is so preoccupied with showcasing the decadence that he doesn't have much left to say about his subject. There is still plenty to appreciate, particularly for those who enjoy pure visual spectacle, but too often "Gatsby" feels like an empty experience too obsessed with the glamour to match the substance of the source material.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Entertainment News
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.