The Great Gatsby (2013)
The 2013 film, The Great Gatsby, was based on the 1925 iconic novel by the American author, F Scott Fitzgerald, and was the sixth interpretation to be made of the original novel. The first film version of this novel was made in 1926 and was a silent movie of a stage production.
When the 2013 film was first released it was not reviewed highly by the critics, however it was very popular with its audience and is the director’s, Baz Luhrmann, highest grossing film to date. The film went on to win many highly respected awards such as Best Costume Design, Production Design and Best Actor in a Leading Role at the AACTA Awards.
Review
The Great Gatsby is a high glitz, high glamour 1920s film that follows a young man, Nick Carraway, who moves to New York City, in the summer of 1922, to chase his big american dream. He finds himself next door to the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and across the pond to his beautiful cousin, Daisy Buchanan, who is married to the unfaithful, self-important and well off Tom Buchanan. Nick becomes engulfed in the world of alcohol, drugs and sex, showing the audience the rebelling of morals of the times. Gatsby is on a mission to win back the heart of his old flame, Daisy, with the help of Nick, having pulled out all the stops to create the perfect palace for him and his ‘princess’.
I really enjoyed the film; however I did think it was too long, developing slowly. I liked how Nick narrated his memories to his doctor in the ‘present’ day because it was interesting to see how his experiences affected him and changed him as a person. I thought that Leonardo DiCaprio performed his character, J Gatsby, with power and authority and I loved how his obsession with Daisy drew him to revolve his life and goals around his love for her. I liked how the rich and vivid colours used added to the extravagance and wealth being portrayed and how the opulence and glamour was shown through the stunning costumes and excesses of his lifestyle. Although I felt that parts of the film were slow, I loved how fast pace the concluding scenes were and how they mirrored the panic and agitation of Gatsby’s emotions. I thought the scene showing Gatsby’s funeral was a very powerful and emotional ending, with only Nick and the press showing up, concluding that all the characters cared about was their wealth and reputation. I love how current music from artists such as Jay-Z, Beyonce and Will.I.Am were incorporated into the 1920s film, keeping with the very distinct style of the director Baz Luhrmann, because it gave the film more of a modern twist.
Style Inspiration
The 2013 Great Gatsby film was a 3D romantic drama.
The Great Gatsby novel mirrored the society of the time, its style and attitudes. The 2013 film version also mirrored the society of the 1920s, however when the film was released it did influence and inspire fashion from the high street to designer clothing.
Prior to the 1920s, women had to cover up their legs but accentuated their curves, aiming for a very womanly and curvy figure; however this changed through the 1920s and the ideal figure became more boyish and women wanted to have a flatter breast and less accentuated hips and waists. The iconic flapper dress was more comfortable with the short pleats and the top flattened the breast instead of pushing them up and the low waist also covered their small waists and smoothed out their hips. Women also began to cut their hair short into bobs to fit the popular cloche hats.
Coco Chanel was one of the most influential women in fashion through the 1920s, being the first women to cut her hair short, wear trousers and reject wearing the corset.
The makeup in the 1920s was also very stylised with the highly-arched eyebrows, bold eyelashes, bright pink cheeks and perfected porcelain skin. Women were encouraged to wear more makeup by magazines such as the French Beauty Industry so that they looked their best when trying to compete with men for jobs. Lipstick became very popular and many different varieties were invented to make the application of lipstick as easy as possible. Women wanted the perfect lip shape, which they associated with having a very defined cupids bow.
The styling in the Great Gatsby film followed these trends with all the main female characters having short hair and flattened breasts and smoothed out hips.
When making the 2013 film they collaborated with the very highly respected designers Prada and Miu Miu and with Brooks Brothers to come up with modernised versions of what was worn in the 1920s, such as the fact that they emphasised Daisy’s breasts with a push-up bra, instead of flattening them, which was the popular thing to do in those times. The costumes in the film, in general, were more sexualised and modernised to suit the viewing public.
The film also collaborated with Tiffany’s, using pieces from their archives and designing new pieces appropriate for the era. The film worked with MAC for the cosmetics used.
After working with the film, Tiffany’s and Brooks Brothers released their own collections inspired by the styling in the film in anticipation that the film would influence the fashion today, which proved to be a successful predication.
Other top designers such as Hackett, Canali, Vera Wang and Alexander McQueen were also influenced by the film’s style and released collections inspired by the 1920s look. It was not just the top designers that were being so highly influenced, high street retailer Debenhams saw a dramatic increases in sales of period pieces; in fact the sales of period accessories such as head pieces and feather capes were up by over 250 per cent off the back of the film and the 1920 costume jewellery went up by 200 per cent. Michelle Dowsall, Debenham’s spokes person was quoted saying, ‘Twenties style regalia is back!’.
Even the top fashion magazine, Vogue, released an issue inspired by The Great Gatsby, recommending different beauty and makeup products that would help readers get the perfect modernised Daisy Buchanan look. They also did a cover of Carey Mulligan, who played Daisy Buchanan, again showing the importance and influence of the film.
The fact that all these leading designers, high street retailers and fashion magazines have brought out collections and/or articles inspired by the 2013 Great Gatsby film shows that the film did greatly influence the current fashion styles of today.
I didn’t feel like the Great Gatsby made either Carey Mulligan or Leonardo DiCaprio a style icon, as I felt that they were style icons in their own right before the film was released. Carey Mulligan was nominated for an Academy Award from her performance in the 2009 film, An Education. This was her break through film that really got her noticed in the acting and fashion world. At her first Oscars she wore a Prada gown that wowed and she was at the top of many best dressed lists; she has continued to wow at red carpet events with her sophisticated, but edgy looks. Leonardo DiCaprio was also a style icon before the Great Gatsby after he played the lead in the iconic, world famous Titanic and other major film roles.
For me, the most memorable look that defines the film is when Daisy wears the jewelled gold dress, glistening hair accessory and furry stole. The rich colours and extravagant diamonds and fur represent how glamorous and over the top the film’s styling is and how money is the one thing that mattered to the characters.
To make the film such a visual success, over 30 people worked together in the makeup department; however the key makeup artist was Wizzy Molineaux and the key hair stylist was Ashley Johnson. Other makeup artists included Lara Birch, Luann Claps, Sian Grigg and Matteo Silvi and some other hair stylists included Kalotina Amperidis, Kathryn Blondell, Teresa Hinton and Joani Yarbrough.
There were nearly 50 people working in the costume and wardrobe department, lead by the costume designer Catherine Martin, including Whitney Adams, who was the costume design assistant, Julie Barton who was the key costume stand-by, Natalie Bracher, who was the textile artist and Bronwyn Doughty who was the costume department coordinator.
I think that the 2013 Great Gatsby film was iconic because, firstly the original novel was iconic, and also because the two leading roles of J Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan were played by highly respected actors/actresses with reputations to uphold. I think the styling and production of the film made it iconic with the rich and bold colours showing the extravagance and opulence of the 1920s; I love how the society and style of the time was captured through the grand visuals like the diamond chandeliers, huge manors and beautiful and glamorous wardrobe.
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