“Glitter and bass beats to lure us toward the edge”

By Caitlin O'Hara

In Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, shiny cars move like cartoons through the lush greenery of the Eggs; even the natural world is dripping in excess.  His valley of ashes spins with so much hot, dirty dust that if you see the 3D version, as I did, you may be tempted to cough. And Gatsby himself, with his “tan skin” which was “drawn attractively tight” on his face – an unforgettable detail from the book – is noticeably, almost laughably, accurate.

The film is as visually excessive as promised – loud and colorful, set to a backdrop of perfectly-coordinated glitzy costume...