Benodet and The Great Gatsby

It's very difficult to find movies in their original version in this part of Bretagne many of the films are dubbed in French which represents a serious handicap for a bona fide cinephile.  We were lucky enough to find The Great Gatsby playing in English at the resort town of Benodet.  It's a lovely little resort town right on the water and the theater itself is situated in the Casino which is one of the major attractions here.  Benodet is also known for its spa retreats.  I intend to avail myself of one of these sometime soon, a little massage would do me the world of good.  The theatre only has 2 screens but the space is fairly big and up to the minute in terms of comfort,plush red seats with strangely enough one lone washroom at the left of the screen, a little weird, could be a problem when there are more than 10 people in the audience.

The showing in English was not well attended, hardly a surprise, we had our choice of seats.  The main reason I wanted to go see this film was for the art direction which seemed sumptuous when I first saw the previews and, on that count, it certainly did not disappoint.  However one of the main problems is the 3D format.  I simply don't understand why 3D was used for this particular film.  In fact I'm tired of 3D being used to not so great effect on far too many movies.  Don't like wearing the 3D glasses they pinch my nose and usually give me a roaring headache accompanied by weeping eyes.  Maybe I'm just allergic to this entire process.

First the good  points:  art direction was top notch each detail, and there were many, lovingly rendered.  The soft billowing of the white curtains, a languorous arm draped over a stunning couch as Daisy Buchanan is slowly revealed to the awe filled gaze of her cousin Nick Carraway who hasn't seen her in 5 years.  Props to the costume department as well, Daisy's dress, in that first scene, is a couture work of art.  In fact all the costumes from the women to the men and I'm including the jewelry here are worthy of the highest praise. Both houses, Buchanan's and Gatsby's are simply spectacular.  If it's eye candy you want and this is satisfaction enough then you're sure to get it in this film.

Now on to the bad points which are numerous.  The use of 3D does nothing to enhance the "special effects" during the crazy,over the top party scenes.  Instead of popping out the many details just get submerged with just too much going on, the eyes go crazy trying to focus on so many details.  Of course the scale for the party is huge and that's one of the problems, it's just too huge, two firework displays might have been great but three, or maybe four, (I stopped counting) is one too many.  There's craziness here but it's all too staged and managed to elicit anything else in this viewer but discomfort at the excesses of the ultra rich.  It wasn't envy I felt it was more akin to revulsion and I'm not sure that's what the director was aiming for.  Another central problem, too much Tobey Maguire, as Nick Carraway the narrator he's more of a central character than Gatsby himself.  The constant narration frames  tableaux or set pieces and robs the film of any forward movement, it's not dynamic.  It just lies there static on the screen with extremely mannered performances from Di Caprio and Maguire especially who spends the entire film with a more or less bemused expression on his face as though he can't quite believe he's been cast in this picture.  Gatsby took too long to make an entrance and although Di Caprio looks fittingly gorgeous as a character he remains a caricature, a pastiche, the constant use of the expression "old sport" translated very poorly in French as "vieux frere" is enough to have you running for the exit. .We understand that Gatsby has had a colorful past but his life narrated through Nick never seems real , Gatsby remains opaque. The love story between Gatsby and Daisy which should have been the beating heart of the film ignites no sparks, hard to believe there was ever any semblance of passion between them.  I fault the casting here.  Carey Mulligan can be a fine actress but she left me totally indifferent in this role.  For the roaring twenties filled with every imaginable excesses the picture was fundamentally chaste, it wasn't sexy or warm at all.  Visually stunning but viscerally empty.

Baz Lurhmann is well known for mixing up musical pieces and incorporating modern music in period films.  He does the same thing here with rap punctuating some scenes, with little echoes of U2 and other modern songs which I didn't recognize.  The effect is jarring.  It takes one out of the period instead of immersing you more deeply into it.  Action punctuated here and there by the mournful sound of a jazz trumpet is not enough to bring you back.  It's a shame considering that there would have been a great wealth of wonderful music from the era to choose from.  It's a deliberate choice which might work for some viewers but mainly served as an additional irritant for me.  Obviously a lovingly crafted film which needed less craft and a whole lot more passion.