What if Lee Pace had played Gatsby?

I rewatched The Great Gatsby last night…er parts of it…er actually I bit the bullet and figured out how to use my son’s xbox-one controller so I could fast-forward through most of it.

Despite everything, the movie has a lot of potential. I didn’t mind the updated music people squawk about (though I wish the women’s costumes and makeup had been more period). And I didn’t object to the over-the-top parties, which I credit with trying to convey the feeling of the roaring twenties to a modern audience.

Baz Luhrmann clearly understands Fitzgerald’s book. He lovingly brings to life themes of ash heaps, all-seeing optometrists, and green lights, and he captures the seedy nature of Gatsby’s connections which — the first time I read Fitzgerald’s obscure “drug store” references — whizzed right by me, at least.

The problem is, Luhrmann also capture’s Fitzgerald’s flaws. The characters in the Great Gatsby are jerks. Fitzgerald sneers at them at the same time as he admires them, making them out to be first charming, then disgusting, and finally telling us Gatsby’s a great romantic hero.

IMHO, both the reader and the viewer of the movie are left saying…huh? Romantic? This cold-fish, possibly a lunatic, we’ve been watching/reading about…Gatsby?

Well….yes. You can look back on his actions at that point and say “So that explains it! He’s obsessively noble and romantic!” But it’s too late because we didn’t fall in love with him along the way.

So what if Lee Pace had been Gatsby instead of Leonardo DiCaprio? I like DiCaprio and admire his acting ability, so this is not a slur on him. But what if Lurhmann had cast someone who oozes romantic intensity as well as being tremendously talented?

It would have been a different film and, I think, had all appeal this glittering misfire lacks.