MovieChat Forums > The Great Gatsby (2013) Discussion > I found the cast perfect!

I found the cast perfect!

posted 8 years ago by maniubao
9 replies | jump to latest

I know that there are many people complaining about the cast, and I respect different opinions. However, I found the casting to be perfect down to the last detail!

When reading the book I found that Nick was a little naive and liked to get easily swept up in extravagance, and Tobey played that role well. Leo was pretty good in his role as well and had great charisma (just watch Catch Me if You Can or The Wolf of Wall Street). It's easy to see how Nick would be fascinated with him. Leo has that "depth" in him which is a must for Gatsby.
I found that Carey Mulligan was incredible as Daisy! Daisy is the hardest to cast imo. You can't just scan through a sea of pretty Hollywood Mia Farrow faces. You need that magnetic ~Daisy~ quality which is both sweet and irresistible. Gatsby could have anyone he wanted but Daisy had that one quality which made him stay in love with her the whole time. It's that innocence, warmth and wonder that makes you forget about everything else. I don't remember the exact quote, but in the book it said something like "she gave off that promise that there was no one else she wanted to see more." I can't really describe it so I hope you guys know what I'm talking about lol. Carey was amazing as Daisy! She has this very unique and sweet face. From the very first curtain-blowing scene you know that THAT is Daisy. She gives off such warmth and unique electricity! And this once sweet ignorance ties in very well with the ending and Carey makes you understand why Daisy did it. The point of Daisy is that no one could know how conniving or selfish she was since she looked so sweet and promising. I know exactly why Baz casted her. She was truly the innocent "golden girl".
Elizabeth Debicki was amazing as Jordan as well. She has a period face reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn. She has that coldness and poise of that age. She represents Jordan's athleticism and elegance very very well.
Tom was well cast as well as Joel does give off that *beep* vibe the story wants you to believe in. Isla played Myrtle well.

You can tell Baz put a lot of thought into the cast and in my opinion it was spot-on! Each character gave off their personality beautifully. If the characters from the book were materialized, this would be it. Does anyone agree?

[–] otter 8 years ago

I do agree that DiCaprio was good in his role, as was Debicki as Jordan. However, I do have issues with many of the other casting decisions.

Tobey MacGuire is far too old for his role, a man pushing forty shouldn't be acting like he just fell off the turnip truck and has never had a drink! Youth is the only excuse for some things, and this Nick isn't young.

Mulligan was an inadequate Daisy, but then I consider the role to be totally unplayable. The camera always sees through Daisy before the characters do, there's no way to capture the illusions of the novel on film.

Edgerton didn't bring much to his part.

“Seventy-seven courses and a regicide, never a wedding like it!

[–] maniubao 8 years ago

Good points!

However I would have to disagree with Tobey. He always has that puppy-dog babyface like in Spider Man. He played the naivety of coming to New York very well. I didn't even know he was 40 until you mentioned it. I always thought he was 30-something lol!

When reading the book, I didn't know Daisy's true intentions until the last quarter. The way the book described her was like a dream and I always thought she could do no wrong. That is, until I got to the very end.
Baz casted Carey very well. She gave off that sweet ignorance that work for both sides of Daisy. At the beginning, she was very naive but in a good way. She was very sweet and beautiful. You could see why Gatsby found her so attractive. But at the end, that cute naivety showed the real Daisy: the carelessness and ignorance. At the last scene where she was leaving the house, she still had that sweet expression on her face, but this time you hate her for it. Baz casted Carey very well as she had the sweet looks to play both (if that makes sense). I found that Carey was the best cast out of everyone else. After seeing the movie I can't think of anyone better.

Joel gave off that Tom vibe. Baz wants you to root for Gatsby instead of Tom and he accomplished that very well by casting Joel. He played the bluntness and aggression of Tom nicely. Joel naturally has a face that looks like a prick (sorry Joel) and in this case I found it worked well! I agree that there wasn't much material for Joel to base his character on, but for the information that he had he played him pretty good.

[–] otter 8 years ago

Oh, Tobey acted the innocence well enough, it just isn't believable that a man of his age would ever be that innocent. I mean, even today a man of that age ought to be well advanced in his career and is likely to have a family of his own, in 1922 a man of that age would probably be a veteran of the "great war" and watching his kids get married and have babies of their own.

So yes, I can believe that this is Nick's first contact with the rich and glamorous, because he came from a place we'd consider pretty primitive, but acting like that's his first job and his first drink? Not consistent with his age.

“Seventy-seven courses and a regicide, never a wedding like it!

[–] maniubao 8 years ago

That I could agree with.

[–] catbookss 8 years ago

I agree with you about Tobey. I thought he made an excellent Nick, and it never occurred to me he was 40 when he played the part because of his babyface. I'm not sure how old Nick was supposed to be in the novel, but to me Tobey hit the mark, regardless of his actual age.

I also thought Leonard was a great choice for Gatsby, as Joel was for Tom.

The only cast choice I'm not on board with is Daisy, but then she is very difficult to cast. For me, in this rendition, she wasn't memorable.

[–] Keely 8 years ago

You really underestimated what Joel Edgerton did with the part of Tom. The character is a one-note bad guy in every other adaptation I've seen (3 including this) and he brought out characteristics that were only hinted at in the book. He made him human and totally understandable and even sympathetic without ignoring his uglier qualities. He also made you see why Daisy would have married him and why she stayed with him. It was a brilliant and unique interpretation and I thought it was easily the best performance in the film.

[–] CharlotteGoldenblatt 8 years ago

Everyone was great except for daisy. Someone else should've played her. Joel Edgerton was the best in his role should've won an oscar.

[–] Knopefan (4) 8 years ago

Totally agree. He disappeared into that role. The confrontation at the hotel showed his acting chops, and he bested DiCaprio easily.

Joel is one of the best actors right now....building a resume of diverse characters. He'll get an Oscar (or at least a nomination or two) in the next 5 years.

Wait and see.

[–] looper007 (1158) 5 years ago

I think Leo Di Capiro and Joel Edgerton were cast perfectly for their roles. I always thought Elizabeth Debicki never looked as stunning as she did in this. Isla Fisher was perfectly cast in a small role.

I'm a big fan of her's but I'm still on the fence if I think Carey Mulligan was miscast, It's a shame someone like Margot Robbie wasn't a star name by this time (she and Leo had great chemistry in Wolf of Wall Street), I think she would have been excellent. I like Toby as Nick Carraway but someone like a Jake Gyllenhaal would have probably done a better Job.

If I was doing a remake today I'd probably cast

Robert Pattinson as Gatsby
Andrew Garfield or Paul Dano as Carraway
Adam Driver as Tom Buchanan
Margot Robbie as Daisy