Review: The Great Gatsby

Review: The Great Gatsby (2013)
*Spoilers Alert
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Official 'The Great Gatsby' Poster.

      Dazzling, captivating, show stopping, and strangely narrative movie, 'The Great Gatsby' is definitely one of the 2013 movie that really surprised me that such over the top adaptation can be a great movie.

"Tobey Maguire".

"Leonardo DiCaprio" and
"Carey Mulligan".

      The movie takes place in the summer of 1922, when young 'Nick Carraway'(Tobey Maguire) relocates from the Midwest to Long Island. Living in a small cottage, he becomes neighbor to the mansion of the infamous and enigmatic 'Jay Gatsby'(Leonardo DiCaprio), who no one has ever seen him before but throws massive parties every night that are the talk of New York City. There 'Nick' will sail into a new lifestyle and be right in the middle of a way of living that he has never been used to. Moreover, he will get to know the all the mysteries that no one knows of. Other characters also include 'Daisy Buchanan'(Carey Mulligan) 'Nick''s cousin and 'Gatsby''s lover, 'Tom Buchanan'(Joel Edgerton) 'Nick''s college buddy and 'Daisy''s brutish husband, 'Jordan Baker'(Elizabeth Debicki) 'Daisy''s friend and famous female golfer, 'Myrtle Wilson'(Isla Fisher) 'Tom''s mistress, 'George Wilson'(Jason Clarke) 'Myrtle''s poor husband, and 'Meyer Wolfshiem'(Amitabh Bachchan).

"Joel Edgerton" and "Elizabeth Debicki".

"Isla Fisher".

      Over the years there have been various adaptations based on the famous story 'The Great Gatsby', written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Though I hadn't had the chance to watch them, many critics and movie fans liked that the interpretation of these movies were influenced by the time frame of the movie but at the same time the culture at the time the movie was made. And that’s exactly what this movie did. 'The Great Gatsby' stuck pretty much throughout the movie to the original story's events except for few minor things. But what I liked about it is the inclusion of the modern culture within the movie and the biggest example is that of the music that 'Jay Z' included within the movie. Many mixed views can be seen and read regarding this issue.

"Jason Clarke".

'Jay Gatsby''s Parties.

      Director "Baz Luhrmann", who is known for his over the top directing style in movies such as 'Romeo+Juliet', 'Moulin Rouge' and 'Australia', was a major debating point in terms of whether he was the right person to direct this movie. In my opinion, he did a very good job. His over the top directing style helped the movie show the lifestyle of this era. His over-imagination and technical precision actually helped mold the story and give it a push forward.  "Luhrmann" and "Craig Pearce" who both worked on the screenplay of 'Romeo+Juliet' and 'Moulin Rouge' were able to keep the story's continuation stable and maintain the character's development interesting, though not all of them. And one of the most important aspect of the movie was it soundtrack."Craig Armstrong"'s beautiful score and "Jay-Z"'s work as an executive producer on the score helped modernize the movie and allowed "Luhrmann"'s ideas to be achieved, due to its employment in a careful manner.

"Leonardo DiCaprio".

"Carey Mulligan" and "Joel Edgerton".

      Usually I do not favor CGI scenery; however, I was impressed with this movie. Visually this movie was a real masterpiece. The extravagant sets, embellished costumes, and outstanding designs allowed the movie to pop. The pace of the movie was good and allowed the literal adaptation of the novel to take place, but still it lacked a certain depth in the story. The opening sequence was a change from the novel, but a much appreciated changes that allowed the movie to roll on in a manner that doesn’t make audiences lost. My favorite scenes include all of the parties, 'Gatsby''s first appearance, 'Gatsby' and 'Daisy''s reunion, and the ultimate fate of 'Gatsby'. The Hotel confrontation scene was really a very well done scene due to the intense emotions that the actors projected. And a positive thing that the movie did was its ability to convey messages such as 'The American Dream' and the sacrifices and foolish decisions that one might make for love.

"Elizabeth Debicki" and
"Tobey Maguire".

"Leonardo DiCaprio", "Carey Mulligan"
, "Tobey Maguire", and
"Joel Edgerton".

      "Leonardo DiCaprio" once again shines in this movie. I believe that he raised the standards for the next actor who might play 'Jay Gatsby' in future adaptations. His performance was splendid from the dramatic serious moments, to the moments where he acted as a teenage boy around his lover. All of these true emotions that he brought solidify him as one of the best actors of the era. "Tobey Maguire"'s performance was an OK performance, since I was expecting more from him though he had his few shining moments. "Carey Mulligan" was to bring 'Daisy' to life, though her character wasn't given true justice in the script in my opinion. "DiCaprio" and "Mulligan had great chemistry and were able to give the story's core romantic couple life and made the ladies swoon.”Joel Edgerton" was one of the two surprises of this movie, due to his ability to bring a character that wasn't given much depth to life and defy the stereotypes of this type of characters. The other surprise was "Elizabeth Debicki", who really stood out as 'Jordan Backer', though it’s unfortunate that in the second half her character was virtually disappeared. "Isla Fisher", "Jason Clarke", "Amitabh Bachchan", and the supporting cast did a good job.

      'The Great Gatsby' is a visually sophisticated movie that had a good story to back it up and was able to compete with the big summer blockbusters. It’s definitely a movie worth the time and money.

'The Great Gatsby'.

-'The Great Gatsby' Info:

-Strarring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, and Amitabh Bachchan.

-Based on: 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

-Studio(s): Village Roadshow Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures.

-Directed by: Baz Luhrmann.

-Screenplay by: Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce.

-Music by: Craig Armstrong and Jay-Z.

-Running Time: 143 minutes.

-Budget: $ 105,000,000.

-Box Office: -Domestic: $ 144,840,419.

                      -Foreign: $ 204,000,000.

-Ratings: -IMdb: 7.4/10.

                -Rotten Tomatoes: 49%. 

                -Metacritic: 55%.

                -PERSONAL RATING: 8.1/10.

-'The Great Gatsby' Trailer: