Fun. Flashy. Frivolous.
I wanted to see this when it came out—on the big screen. But time slipped past. Sitting on a non-nighttime seven-hour flight created in me a captive audience, delighted to find this film on Delta’s “on demand” list. (I also watched Water for Elephants, but no review will be here as it’s more than a year post-release. (Okay, I also erred in my timing and missed the last climactic five minutes of WFE as the film shut off just before landing. (Fortunately, I’d read the book and knew what I missed.) (Yes, that’s my rule: I can review films I see outside of the theater but only if they are less than a year since wide release. (Up in the Air was my one exception as, after all, it’s my flying that allowed my status to allow our upgrade to allow for “on demand” films on that recent Delta flight. (See how I came full circle after veering off-path several times? wink emoticon)))))
Okay—back to Gatsby. Like I said: Fun. Flashy.
Frivolous? Yes. Then again, this is a particular adaptation of the book (another I read in anticipation of a movie) that focuses more on the excess than on the quiet reserve I found in the pages. Of course, that excess is a theme in the book; it simply wasn’t what spoke to me. And for that, the film feels frivolous rather than the deeper statement that might be argued in this work.
But it certainly was also fun. And when beginning a vacation, it served as a great flick to view.