Gatsby is a story of ghosts: both he and Daisy Buchanan seeming spectral and haunted. Leonardo DiCaprio does pretty well with the character’s mirroring personality and tragic romantic idealism. Carey Mulligan, while a fine actress, never feels right in the part—I’m not sure she fits at all with the comic bent that Luhrmann brings to the story. That comic element explains Tobey Maguire, and the weirdly virginal take on Nick Carraway. It plays up his innocence while playing down his more perceptive side. It couldn’t be more different than Sam Waterston’s performance.

[jwplayer config=”Default-Post-Player” mediaid=”16683″]