Monday, December 15, 2014

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Great Gatsby (2013) - More Than Non-Stop Energy

[Quick Summary: Writer Nick Carraway observes the privileged lives of his cousin Daisy, her husband, and mysterious neighbor Gatsby.]

I think this adaption is remarkable for two reasons:

1) It makes Nick part of the action (he was an observer in the book).
2) It pulses with a 1920s squeeze-every-drop energy.

Note in the scene below:

1) How Nick is an observer (staying true to the book) but also a participant.
2) The non-stop energy (i.e., non-stop action) captures the recklessness of the time, but also reflect Tom's privileged attitude.

ex.  INT. BUCHANAN MANSION - HALL OF CHAMPIONS - LATE AFTERNOON

Tom leads Nick down a grand hall lined with the trophies that chonicle Tom's infinite sporting achievements.

TOM: First team, all-American!

Tom admires his own achievements.

TOM: You see? Made me who I am today.

Tom pulls his favorite trophy from the cabinet --

TOM: Here --Forest Hills...I played the Prince of Wales. What a sissy!

Tom exchanges the trophy for a football.

TOM: Life's something you dominate Nick.

He pelts Nick with the ball --

TOM: If you're any good.

Nick fumbles as Tom charges him --

TOM: Ha-ha-ha!

Tom tackles Nick, knocking him back, through a pair of vaulting doors, and into [the salon]. 

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: On the surface, the non-stop energy (i.e., non-stop action) captured the 1920s.

However, it was also tailored for each character. For Tom, it was recklessness. For Daisy, desperation. 

The Great Gatsby (2013)
by Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce
Based on the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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