My, how time changes things! That was my first impression of director, producer, co-writer Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby after watching the first 25 minutes of his new movie and sitting thorough an extravagant scene of a party at the pretentious mansion owned by Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). When the volume of the film shot up to “Rolling Stones concert level,” I actually had to hold my ears closed several times.

Guests at the party are exquisitely dressed in clothes like people wore during the 1920s -- the era in which F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the famous book. However, the party goers sometimes seem to be dancing styles of today -- jumping up and down (almost gangnam style) -- and for a short while to hip hop music. Add in the special ridiculous 3-D glasses passed out because Luhrmann wanted to “heighten the dramatic and visual sense of what we were trying to achieve” and I felt  underwhelmed. Those cumbersome glasses did nothing to enhance the already beautiful set. In many instances -- when I took my glasses off -- I found the glasses dulled the screen. All of this instantly lowered my enthusiasm for this movie version.

The story stays mostly true to Fitzgerald’s novel, but there are always a few screenwriters who want to leave their own mark on a film by changing something, and that happens here in certain places. Happily, all the cast members appear perfectly matched with their characters. There’s Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), a wannabe writer new to New York whose beautiful cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) met Gatsby years before and left his heart beating for her ever since. When Gatsby befriends Nick, it’s because he wants to get back into Daisy’s life. That’s not easy, for she’s now married to Tom (Joel Edgerton). Even though Tom ignores her and is a philandering husband, she can’t seem to break the bond and let go.

For most of the movie DiCaprio is solid as Gatsby. He’s mysterious, charming and very loving when he and Daisy spend time together.  DiCaprio, an exceptionable actor, jumps out of character only in a few scenes when Gatsby is angry at Daisy. Mulligan could play a piece of pizza and win an Oscar. She melts every whim of Daisy’s topsy-turvy emotions into an engaging and alluring character. It’s hard to take your eyes off her. Fortunately, Mulligan and DiCaprio generate great chemistry together.

With Nick Carraway, Maguire has found his perfect role. There’s never a moment that doesn’t feel real, especially when he’s frozen with fear that something bad will happen to Daisy -- or when he sees through a plot of Gatsby’s but becomes so intrigued by the man he doesn’t react. It’s a wonderful performance, even the hypnotic way he recites the story from the writer’s viewpoint. I really believed him when he called Gatsby “the single most hopeful person I ever met.”  Edgerton is great as a man we love to hate. There’s a lack of emotion in Tom that only roars when he’s about to lose something he wants to possess, not cherish.  

Catherine Martin’s delectable costumes are already screaming Oscar. There’s a reason she’s a two-time Academy Award®-winning production and costume designer for Moulin Rouge!  As set director, Beverly Dunn faced a huge challenge to fill the mansion with just the right objects in  Gatsby’s world, and she did a splendid job.

I give the story and acting elements of Gatsby high marks. But I’m disappointed in Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!) thinking he could bring a new audience into a 1925 story by adding retro music and dance styles -- plus making the film 3-D. Honestly, the only thing I remember that was in 3-D involves a short scene of falling snowflakes. I don’t see the contemporary story that Luhrmann strived for here. I see a classic with tattered edges instead. It’s like taking a bowl of homemade soup and adding rose buds on top to liven it up -- which ends up spoiling them both.

(Released by Warner Bros and rated “PG-13” for some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying and brief language.)

Review also posted at www.reviewexpress.com.