“The Great Gatsby” Movie Poster
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The first movie poster of Baz Luhrman’s The Great Gatsby, out December 25, 2012, shows fans a glimpse of what they’ll be getting this Christmas–a scintillating on-screen romance between Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan. What’s most surprising, however, is that Mulligan trumps DiCaprio in the print preview, with her beautifully poignant gaze eclipsing DiCaprio’s face. Of the Hollywood poster boy, fans are treated only to a profile shot of the actor cheek-to-cheek with the actress who plays his paramour in the film. It’s captivating.
Luhrman’s rendition of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic aims to revive the dark allure that the 1974 film failed to capture. Rebuked for having style without substance, Luhrman’s characters will need to grasp the novel’s cynicism to be deemed more successful than its 1974 predecessor which was directed by Jack Clayton and written by Francis Coppola.
Given Luhrman’s history of rich visuals and cinematographic flair, this critique which New York Times writer Vincent Canby wrote of the Clayton film at the time of its release signals Luhrman may be in danger of a similar fate.
“The sets and costumes and most of the performances are exceptionally good, but the movie itself is as lifeless as a body that’s been too long at the bottom of a swimming pool,” Canby wrote at the time. “As Fitzgerald wrote it, The Great Gatsby is a good deal more than an ill-fated love story about the cruelties of the idle rich…. The movie can’t see this through all its giant close-ups of pretty knees and dancing feet. It’s frivolous without being much fun.”
For the 2012 version to capture “the spirit of Fitzgerald’s impatient brilliance” as Canby eloquently puts it, Luhrman and his cast will have to be willing to get their proverbial hands dirty. Moulin Rouge proves the director is capable of such grit; Australia discredits it.
DiCaprio will play the young Jay Gatsby, the new-money socialite known for throwing lavish parties that appall the old-money upper-class. Mulligan appears as Daisy Buchanan, of such an upper-class, who once knew and loved Gatsby. Daisy is married to the unfaithful Tom (Joel Edgarton) who cheats on her with his mistress in New York City (Isla Fisher). Tobey Maguire will play the Midwest-born Nick Carraway, who bears witness to the events that ensue within these elite-but-divisive Long Island communities.
The all-star cast packs promise for the novel’s adaptation which has yet to see a fully successful rendition. Hopefully 2012 Gatsby‘s sexy poster indicates a reversal of its ill-fated predecessors, old sport.
Photo from Adweek
