Filmmakers fashion this great American novel into a 3D spectacle. Director Baz Luhrmann, of lavish "Moulin Rouge" fame, settles for nothing less than over-the-top visuals. Apparently, he's decided that 2D isn't enough "D" for Gatsby's bigger-than-life character. Large, glittery, adorned and feathered, Gatsby's parties rock the screen with flair, fervor, indulgence, wine, dancing, and song -- which, btw, is hip hop (a bold daring choice for a period piece set in the twenties). While I'm not a huge fan of hip hop, I applaud the choice here to inject the party vibe directly into audiences. Also, cinematically artfully done: the automobile sequences, the orchestration of servants and curtains, and the NY city apartment. Art direction on this film soars!

Baz weaves words. He chooses to emphasize certain quotes from the book by scribbling them out on screen in elegant typographic motion as Nick Caraway, the film's narrator and fictional writer of the story, types them.

That said, the film doesn't quite live up to these poetic phrases. The Gatsby arc seems overly simplified here. Juicy nuances sans development leave the book quotes without film support. Hence, they look pretty, but lack dramatic impact. The same is true of the acting. While DiCaprio and Maguire are both fine actors, their performances don't rise much above surface storytelling. Only a scene or two sport truly dramatic awe. So, it's not surprising that the characters don't endear deeply, nor do the themes resound. Still, at the end of the day, the film offers a good story with smashingly incredible visuals.

Towards the goal of giving resonance to Gatsby's main theme, kindly allow me to pose these questions: Do we (as modern individuals) tend to greenlight our dreams in the now? Or do we put them on hold until we can get all our ducks in a row? And lastly, just how many ducks ought one align before braving across the pond? Ponder that for a moment.

We all know people who have accomplished a great deal with their business ventures or marriages or personal journeys. Have you ever asked any of them what it was like to set those dreams in motion? From what I've heard, here's a sort of composite paraphrase of responses from successful people: "We promised more than we thought we could deliver - which meant we challenged ourselves to learn something we didn't know - which frightened and energized us to work hard and with focus."

Doesn't that sound a lot like life?

Further, the Gatsby story begs thought on a corollary. Once the dreamer dares to "live the dream," the dream itself takes on a life of its own. It interacts with family, friends, strangers, and the universe in beautifully unpredictable ways. To attempt to contain it, to fix it, to even expect it to stay true to our first conceptions are futile. That would be like trying to force a refracted spectrum of light back into the prism.

-- Books by Author/Illustrator Ross Anthony --