Hat tip to Stephanie Zacharek (Village Voice) for the perfect use of that popular critical flourish, the reapplication of a movie quote as auto-criticism of the film, in her review of Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby:
“You think it’s too much?” [Gatsby] asks Nick, anxiously. Nick offers a polite answer: “I think it’s what you want.”
The Great Gatsby is both too much and what Luhrmann wants…
The line is so spot-on that I almost suspect Luhrmann meant it as a half-confession, but either way it was Zacherek who made the connection.
Meanwhile, Chris Tookey (Mail Online) offers a devastatingly on-target assessment of Luhrmann’s “too-muchness”:
I was a fan of Luhrmann’s early work — Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge. I was even entertained by Australia, his overblown tribute to Gone With The Wind and his own home nation.
He is never boring, and there’s no doubt about his intelligence and flair. There is, however, a gigantic question mark hanging over his taste.
One is left with the horrible suspicion that Luhrmann’s remake of The King’s Speech would involve fire-breathing jugglers, a thousand screaming drag queens and a million rampaging wildebeest.
Wow. I’m afraid I can almost see it.
The Great Gatsby in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.
Copyright © 2000– Steven D. Greydanus. All rights reserved.