Sorvino, Rudd and Donovan are very good; Sorvino, in fact, is excellent, better than Farrow in the 1974 version. But Toby Stephens is badly miscast as Jay Gatsby; there's no sense of romance to him, no yearning; he has none of Gatsby's strengths NOR his weaknesses. He looks like a cigarette ad.
But the real problem here is to reveal Gatsby's background much, much too early; he should remain mysterious to us for longer than he does. The production lacks the richness required, and ducks away from important scenes; it's sentimental instead of wryly wistful, and doesn't capture the period very well.
The Great Great Gatsby remains to be made. We're left with a lost silent version, the elusive Ladd version (which is quite good) and the good, but not outstanding, version from 1974. This one is just a footnote.
But the real problem here is to reveal Gatsby's background much, much too early; he should remain mysterious to us for longer than he does. The production lacks the richness required, and ducks away from important scenes; it's sentimental instead of wryly wistful, and doesn't capture the period very well.
The Great Great Gatsby remains to be made. We're left with a lost silent version, the elusive Ladd version (which is quite good) and the good, but not outstanding, version from 1974. This one is just a footnote.