The Australian auteur bludgeons F Scott Fitzgerald's great American tragedy, replacing its subtlety and intelligence with hyperactivity and song. Luhrmann focuses on the story's narrator, Nick Carraway, played by a smirking, spaced-out Tobey Maguire. He's terribly miscast, as is Carey Mulligan as the weak, fickle Daisy and Joel Edgerton as her brutish, racist husband. The only thing keeping this mess afloat is Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby (pictured), who calmly strives to capture this enigmatic figure's optimism and romanticism.
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