Film Forum

(2013, Baz Luhrmann) “You can't repeat the past.” “Of course you can…” Mysterious Leonardo DiCaprio moves heaven and earth to win Carey Mulligan’s Daisy, while Tobey (Spider-Man) Maguire spectates, in master of excess Luhrmann’s adaptation of Fitzgerald’s 20s classic. Oscars for Production Design and Costumes. DCP. Approx. 143 mins.

Reviews

“An eminently enjoyable movie… [an] energetic, brightly colored rendering of the sad story of Jay Gatsby…Mr. Luhrmann’s peculiar genius — also the thing that drives cultural purists of various stripes crazy — lies in his eager, calculating mix of refinement and vulgarity.”
– A.O. Scott, The New York Times

“MAKES FOR A GRANDIOSE, COLORFUL, PLEASURE-DRENCHED NIGHT AT THE MOVIES!”
– Slate

“SPECTACULAR!”
– Salon

“An expressionist work…it moves, it breathes, it has color on its side.”
– Village Voice

“Bluntly effective as melodrama, vividly colorful in its stereoscopic grandeur, never a dull moment…[a] Minnelli-on-acid aesthetic.”
– Time Out

“Jaw-dropping evocation of Roaring ’20s New York!”
– New York Post

“EASILY THE MOST ENTERTAINING GATSBY YET! An audacious and worthy attempt.”
– Newsday

“Lurhmann has an undeniable ability to churn out grandiose cinematic tapestries.”
– Indiewire

“ENDLESSLY EXTRAVAGANT! The cast is first-rate, the ambiance and story provide a measure of intoxication and, most importantly, the core thematic concerns pertaining to the American dream, self-reinvention and love lost, regained and lost again are tenaciously addressed…Opulence defines the production values, led by Martin’s sets and costumes. As for the use of 3-D by Luhrmann and cinematographer Simon Duggan, it is probably the most naturalistic aspect of the film; only rarely do you notice it in a pronounced way and yet it really does add something to the experience, drawing you in as if escorting you through a series of opening gates, doors and emotional states.”
– Hollywood Reporter