MovieChat Forums > The Great Gatsby (2013) Discussion > Something that bothered me...

Something that bothered me...

posted 9 years ago by champagne_kisses91
2 replies | jump to latest

I love this film - the costumes, the music, the story - everything. However, there's one thing that always bothers me everytime I watch it. I don't understand why Nick was so distraught at the end... his anxiety, his alcoholism. Yes, Gatsby's death was tragic and it would play on the mind for a while, but realistically would it have affected him that much?

I can understand the whole 'New York made me sick' and his desire to move, but I don't see how it would send him to a psychiatric hospital.

He and Gatsby only knew each other for a few months(?) at the most. It's not like they were lovers or even close friends.

The scene where Nick is walking through Gatsby's empty house looking all disheveled reminds me of the beginning/ending of Moulin Rouge (also directed by Luhrmann) where Christian is writing up his memoir.

Christian's angst in Moulin Rouge made much more sense due to the fact that he and Satine were in love. What does everyone else think? Am I missing something? I understand anxiety can affect absolutely anyone, but it seemed the film portrayed Nick's issues as a result of Gatsby's death.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (64741518) 8 years ago

Yes, the opening and closing was very similar to Christian in Moulin Rouge, and unless Nick was secretly in love with Gatsby or Daisy, it doesn't make much sense at all. I'm open to other peoples' thoughts on why this is in the film.

What bothered me the most was noticing a distinct formula in Baz's movies. The first 30 minutes of Gatsby follow almost the exact same formula as Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge - sad writer or poet, things aren't going great, something changes where this character is suddenly "thrown into the deep end" of partying, and then a huge party scene. In Romeo + Juliet it was the Capulet party; in Moulin Rouge it was the Can-Can scene; and obviously here it's Gatsby's party.

Something about the music, the camera angles, the number of people, the decadence of the parties... they're SO SIMILAR that it didn't sit right with me. I was half expecting "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" to start playing.

As enjoyable as I found the movie, I lost a bit of respect for Baz there. Mix it up, for *beep*'s sake!

[–] Drooch 8 years ago

I think he saw himself in Gatsby, an example of what a man could become through hope and prosperity, the very driving force behind his life (and most lives in a materialistic world). When Gatsby is ruined and killed by that system, Nick's dream is dead, and he wanders without purpose in a doomed world.