Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby Baz Luhrmann IEB Literature essay (the evolution of Baz Luhrmann's directing style)
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Course
Institution
11th Grade
This essay is about the evolution of Baz Luhrmann's directing style seen through the films Moulin Rouge and the Great Gatsby. Music, narration techniques and colour are discussed.
In the films, Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby, directed by Baz Luhrmann, one can
certainly see both the trends as well as the deviations in Baz Luhrmann’s directing style. This
is evident through the use of anachronistic music, the incorporation of a narrator along with
the difference in the use of colour.
Firstly, the use of anachronistic soundtracks is present in both films. In Moulin Rouge,
popular songs from modern times are used, despite the film being set in 1899. Although
these songs do not belong in 1899, they are cleverly used to enhance the emotional essence
of the film. The song ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ released almost a century after the time period
Moulin Rouge is set in, but it perfectly captures the spirit of the cabaret by emphasising the
Bohemian lifestyle within the club through its wild and chaotic rhythms. Furthermore, the
song ‘Roxanne’ released eighty years after the events of Moulin Rouge, yet it flawlessly
captures Christian’s jealousy through the tense atmosphere created by the stressed violin
syllables. Therefore, the use of modern pop songs in the past settings of the film “captures
the emotional truth of the past” (Fox, 2021). Likewise, The Great Gatsby is set in the 1920s,
but its soundtrack consists of original music from 2013. Despite being a hip-hop song, ‘100$
Bill’ encapsulates the lavish and exhilarating ambiance of the roaring twenties through its
lively beat and lyrics which state, “dollars fall on the skin”. The skilful use of these lyrics
expresses the greed for wealth and flashy lifestyles people of the twenties experienced
while maintaining the film’s relevance to a younger audience. The soundtrack was a “bold
choice designed to… add an element of frenzy” to the film in order to attract a wider
audience (Tom, 2013). Through this, it is evident that Baz Luhrmann chooses to continue
using anachronistic music in his films as it is successful in enhancing the essence of the time
periods they were set in.
Furthermore, both films make use of a narrator who reflects on the film’s events which
ultimately ends in tragedy. Luhrmann’s use of a narrator is a stylistic choice that involves the
viewer and thus connects with them on a deeper level. He also makes the narrators
unreliable which adds a sense of complexity to the films, therefore making the viewer
question the truthfulness of the stories. In Moulin Rouge, Christian walks the viewer
through the story with the aid of his voice and his typewriter in his drunken state. This
allows for the viewer to truly comprehend the love he has for Satine as his emotions
penetrate his storytelling. His firsthand account of the story makes the film feel authentic
and genuine, however his drunken state keeps the viewer captivated as he “set(s) up the
tone of the film” (Parvanae, 2022). The use of the typed words from the typewriter
transports the viewer into a different reality and reinforces the fact that the film is not
meant to depict reality. Luhrmann keeps this directing style in The Great Gatsby, where Nick
uses his voice and his journal to narrate Gatsby’s story. However, unlike Christian, Nick’s
point of the view is from an outside perspective as he tells Gatsby’s story and not his own.
“He is both an insider and outsider” (enotes, 2019). Luhrmann cleverly does this to distance
the viewer from Gatsby’s lavish lifestyle while making them urge for answers about Gatsby’s
persona. The fact that Nick, like Christian, is struggling with alcohol abuse and depression
keeps the viewer enthralled as they contemplate the truth about the absurdities of Gatsby’s
lifestyle. Therefore, despite the difference in Christian and Nick’s importance to the plot of
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