This F. Scott Fitzgerald classic famously details the story of a desire that burns so bright that it sets ablaze the person bearing it. This person, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), lives in the world of beauty, noise, and vast dreams, and despite his desire burning him down, he refuses to let it slip off him.In this scene, where one of his glorious, legendary, and exorbitant parties has just ended, Gatsby stands, lamenting its fruitless conclusion: Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan) wasn’t impressed.In this moment, he realizes that this extravaganza was neither for strangers nor for prestige; it was for her. He spirals into plans of recreating the magic. A do-over. And he wants Nick (Tobey Maguire) to help him out. But Nick has a different take on the situation.“You can’t repeat the past,” he says.Nick has pointed out the truth, but Jay is not ready for it. He isn’t done with his desire yet. He counters, “Why, of course you can.” He is a man desperately stretching backwards trying to get a hold of the love he thinks is slipping away, with the belief that if he holds tight, he will have it.The scene may be gentle, but it holds the film’s thematic truth: desire rooted in delusion won’t let him accept that life moves only in one direction.The QuoteNick’s Voice of Reality Nick is the narrator of Jay Gatsby’s story. We explore the protagonist (Gatsby) from Nick’s point of view. So, Nick’s role in the story is to observe rather...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Today