The great, the powerful; Gatsby. The film of the summer has hit theaters with a bang as The Great Gatsby opened May 10 to its eager audience. This film created so much hype that it would be hard to live up to the expectations, but Gatsby never fails.
The Great Gatsby follows the story of the novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, previously adapted into a 1974 flick. But this film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, created an atmosphere so convincing that the 1920s seemed desirable.
The film is centered around a story, being told by Nick, about the infamous Gatsby and his forgotten legend. The reasons behind the telling of Nick’s story is the only detail that director Baz Luhrmann embellished on. With this being the only big change from the book, the flick was an incredible adaption.
Nick Carraway is a fresh face in the New-York world, moving to West Egg where he works in the bond business. His neighbor, later discovered to be Gatsby, lives in a mansion that is always holding lavish, extravagant parties.
These are not just regular parties, these are infamous, headline making parties, where no one receives invitations . . . except Nick. Gatsby’s parties are the epitome of the 20s, rich with jazz, dancing and scandal that draw the “new money” crowds towards Gatsby’s gates. Gatsby first makes Nick’s acquaintance at one of these spectacles, igniting Nick’s curiosity of the man’s true nature.
From that moment on, Nick becomes Gatsby’s target as he tries to prompt him to help with his life-long goal. Gatsby has been, unknowingly, climbing the social ranks to please Daisy, his first and only love. Despite the fact that Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton), Gatsby holds on to the hope that they are meant to be together.
The rest of the movie reveals the struggles that Daisy experiences, torn between love, lust and luxury. Nick is overwhelming aware of Gatsby’s futile efforts to repeat the past and erase the past five years of Daisy and his relationship, but he is only a fly on the wall, refusing to interject against the immoralities surrounding him.
The scenes are split between’s Nick’s narration, presented as a memory, and fade into a present account of the happenings in West Egg, Long Island in 1922. This format of story telling is a refreshing contrast to the usual and predictable point of view that most modern movies use.
In telling Gatsby’s life story, Nick is writing its entirety in a journal as a form of therapy years after the fact. In some scenes throughout the movie, text illuminates the screen, reminding the viewer that Nick is narrating each scene. In my opinion, this was a clever way to portray the timeline of events, recounting the years-later feeling the novel gives off.
As actors, Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan should applaud themselves. Together, their chemistry was extremely believable, even in the scenes where they were playing acquaintances to fool Tom. The mystery that DiCaprio was able to emit to Nick, and the viewer, was unparalleled. Mulligan as Daisy makes the viewer fall in love with her when they should be hating her.
Along with the acting, the costumes and sets were era-perfect; they represented the 1920s perfectly through the contrast of luxury and wealth. The wide-angle views of the Valley of Ashes gives off the exact gloomy, depressing atmosphere that Fitzgerald portrays in his novel.
In terms of soundtracks, this is one of the most interesting, risky sets of songs that I’ve ever seen in a movie. The album, available on iTunes, includes a variety of songs that would not normally be grouped together. Artists rang from Jay Z, Beyonce, will.i.am, Fergie and even The xx. The Great Gatsby producers took a major risk in using rap music, but it payed off; sometimes being different is best.
If seeing this movie is an option, as Gatsby would say: see it, old sport. This is one of the best book adaptions that I’ve ever seen, let alone an all-around good movie. The themes are for a more mature audience, but the level of entertainment this flick offers is excellent for everyone.
The Great Gatsby runs at 143 and is rated PG-13 for some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying and brief language.
This writer can be reached via Twitter: @TyninFries. Follow The Feather via Twitter: @thefeather.
For more reviews, read the May 9 article, The Feather Gamecast (VIDEO).
