Film Analysis Of The Great Gatsby

The 2013 film The Great Gatsby, directed by Baz Luhrmann and based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's original iconic novel, made a splash amongst movie-goers. It earned itself a profit of over $90 million, with the expenses for the production of the movie coming to a grand total of $145 million Australian Dollars. The possibly profligate sum of money put into the movie undoubtedly reflected the extravagant visuals and the immensity of the sets, costumes and cast of the movie. Luhrmann had great expectations and intentions for the assembly of his very own visceral, and visually exciting rendition of the 1920s. The 1920s, also very suitably labelled as ‘The Roaring 20s’, was a vibrant and energetic era of transformation and dissidence. The rise of Wall
The exposure of the shoulders and arms, common in dresses in the 1920s, is evident in Jordan’s dress. Her waist is de-emphasised through the use of a softly draped bodice and a belt at the hips, effectively achieving the straight-bodied garconne look. The dropped waist style is also present in Figure 2 where a belt is tied at the hips. The understated and flat-chested look the dress provides, also follows through with the ideal androgynous style of the 20s. Although not shown in the image, the hemline of the dress reaches half way between the knee and ankle, an accurate and acceptable length for the time period. Embroidered beads and jewelled embellishments are present around the neck, and down the chest of this dress, a popular feature in the 20s. The colour black as seen in Jordan’s dress, was a prevalent colour in women’s clothing of that time. In contrast, although backless dresses were fashionable in the era, the backline of this dress is much too low and would have been too revealing for the fashion customs of the 20s. Figure 3 provides an alternate and more accurate example of a backless dress in the era; a v-shaped backline, only just reaching the small of the back. Despite bare shoulders and arms being attractive in the 20s, the extent to which the front of this dress drops, is quite low to be acceptable in that era. Figure 2 displays a more common and accurate style of neckline for the
Jordan’s outfit features a v-neck cut which was present although not widely utilized in the 20s. Figure 10 provides an example of a more accurate type of neckline, a deep scoop-neck cut. Silk was seen as a luxurious fabric in the 20s and therefore was frequently used in clothing. Different variations of silk fabric are used in both the top and bottom segments of this outfit. Especially so in sandy and bronze colours, which are appropriately and accurately the chosen colours of the top. The top and pant combination ensemble of Jordan’s outfit were not commonly seen in 1920s women’s fashion and strays from the conventional. The skirt seen in Figure 11 would have been a more appropriate choice to keep true to the era. The V-shaped lines graduating towards the middle of the torso in Jordan’s dress would have been avoided in the 20s, as it accentuates the waist and is not reminiscent of the androgynous look. Due to this, too much emphasis is placed on the breasts, which does not form the ideal silhouette of the time period. The straight-bodied figure shown in Figure 9 would have been a more appropriate choice, suitable and accurate to the 20s