As an English major, it may seem anticlimactic that my favorite book of all time is F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. You may argue that it's too easy or obvious a choice; perhaps it suggests a shallowness in my familiarity with the canon. It is an easy, obvious choice, because it's a perfect novel. It's masterfully-written and edited: a slim novel where every word counts, that says more than many novels three or four times its size. The characters are so vivid, so alive, and the settings aren't static locations on the page, but points of experience. Just thinking about the sweltering heat as described by Fitzgerald makes me keen to take a shower.
When it was announced that Baz Luhrmann's next project was a Gatsby adaptation, I was extremely excited, and with the recent casting announcements, my excitement grows. The previous adaptation, starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, is simply dreadful - one of the worst literary adaptations I've ever seen. (Of course, I'm extra-biased since it's my favorite novel they're messing with.) I have faith in Luhrmann, though. He's already brought Shakespeare to the screen in beautiful, exciting style, and I can't wait to see what he does with Fitzgerald's swinging twenties. Surely he'll employ a grandeur similar to that he displayed in his sadly under-appreciated epic, Australia. Luhrmann is a showman through and through, not unlike Gatsby himself, and he's sure to bring the novel's unforgettable party scenes to life with style, verve, and class.
What makes this director/source material pairing even more exciting is the casting. Leonardo DiCaprio, working with Luhrmann for a second time, will make an amazing Gatsby (even if Hugh Jackman is still my first choice). DiCaprio is one of the finest actors working today, and he'll undoubtedly be considered one of the all-time greats by the end of his career. He has an intensity that's rare among the younger generation; he delves into his characters in a very real way. One has to imagine that his frequent collaborations with Martin Scorsese have helped him reach the impressive level of talent he displays in every role. I'm looking forward to seeing a softer side of DiCaprio. So often his characters are haunted or broken, so it'll be great to see him balancing that serious side with Gatsby's casual geniality and hopeless romanticism. It's not impossible that this will be the role to finally bring Leo the Oscar glory that has so far eluded him.
Tobey Maguire is attached to play Nick Carraway, which is another bit of good casting. I still have a bit of a sour taste from Maguire after Spider-man 3, and his weird intensity in Brothers didn't elevate him in my opinion, but I have faith that this is a part that will let him use the full range of his talent. Nick is a sort of everyman, a supposed outsider looking in, and Maguire should be able to tackle Carraway's easy honesty very well.
Over the past weeks, there's been a storm of speculation about who would play Daisy, and today, Carey Mulligan was announced as having won the critical role, beating out a long list of talented actresses including Amanda Seyfried, Rebecca Hall, and Natalie Portman. Again, Mulligan isn't my first choice (that would be Rachel McAdams, who is basically my first choice for any movie), but she is an inspired choice and will surely handle the role better than Farrow did. Mulligan burst into the scene in last year's phenomenal An Education, and since has delivered a string of great performances. She's an actress who has yet to make a misstep, and working with Luhrmann is an exciting next step for her. I'm looking forward to seeing her chemistry with Leo, and very interested to see who will play her brutish husband, Tom.
(Image of Mulligan taken by Luhrmann during
workshop rehearsals, courtesy of
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