Great Gatsby gets mixed response at Cannes

‘The Great Gatsby’ got a mixed reaction at Cannes Film Festival last night (15.05.13).

Baz Luhrmann’s opulent drama – which is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel of the same name – opened the 66th annual film gala in France yesterday to great fanfare, but the film’s screening received a "polite but muted" response once credits rolled, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The big budget 3D flick – which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton and Tobey Maguire – didn’t elicit the same response from the eager festival audience as last year’s opening film, ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ or 2011’s opening film, ‘Midnight in Paris’ from director Woody Allen.

However, the film was received more positively than another big budget book adaptation – Ron Howard’s ‘The Da Vinci Code’, which opened Cannes in 2006.

One insider said: "The reaction was soft, but far from the worst, like what ‘The Da Vinci Code’ got.

"I liked the film, and I get why the festival thought it was a good idea — it’s got big stars and is very cinematic."

The reaction marks a stark contrast from the incredible response director Baz Luhrmann received in 2001 when he opened his musical film, ‘Moulin Rouge’, in Cannes. That film’s screening was met with high praise and a standing ovation.

Despite mixed reviews from critics, ‘The Great Gatsby’ opened with $50 million in its first weekend of release in the United States.