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| Sexy, kinda... |
Today's character: Tom Buchanan
Luhrmann's Buchanan: Joel Edgerton
Past Toms: Barry Sullivan, Bruce Dern, Martin Donovan
Okay, so begins my xenophobic, flag waving rant on Australian characters playing pure bred, corn fed Amerrrrricans. It’s...not...that....big of....a deal (*shudders). But really, my biggest issue with Edgerton as Tom is that I believe Bradley Cooper would have been a damn good Tom. Dammit! But, if Luhrmann feels better directing actors that he knows more about, then so be it.
Tom, described by some American actor as “the best character in the book. He’s so complicated...He’s xenophobic, he’s an alcoholic, but he also understands some profound stuff about class.” Tom is an every-man. He’s a young, rich Archie Bunker. He’s everyone’s racist, beer drinkin' grandfather or father. He says what he thinks no matter how anyone feels, and he gets what he wants by either being an asshole or a passive-aggressive douche. He drinks, he cheats on his wife, but he also knows that all of it is fun and games. And he never really learns anything.
That unnamed American actor also provides a warning to those playing Tom; “Whoever plays it has to take a gentle hand, because it could so easily be stock, where he’s a rich jerk you don’t identify with at all.” So very very true. Let’s loooook at how Edgerton stacks up.
