The Great Gatsby

My reaction when I heard that Baz Luhrman was directing a remake of the Great Gatsby? YES. I can't think of anyone who I think would do a better job of a modern interpretation. His visual style, the musical choices, and the cast of Leonardo DiCaprio meant absolutely nothing could go wrong.

(It should be noted that we went to the Gatsby Party like it was a real Gatsby Party...we were pretty drunk.)

I remember reading that this movie, according to the critic, didn't rely enough on the story as much as it should have. That it was a lot of style over substance. Sure, I can see that. But I can also see that the story isn't exactly one people are dying to see. I don't know about my readers, but I know plenty of people who found the book that they read in school as boring, tiresome, dramatic, what have you. I am not one of those people. But I felt that the adaptation was a great method of reaching people to show the tragedy of the story and what made it significant. I also felt that the style worked unbelievably well, putting into perspective exactly how overzealous the lifestyle was respective to our own overzealous party lifestyles.

The acting saved every possible flaw I had. Every character was portrayed exactly as I imagined them in my own exploration of the novel. Leonardo DiCaprio deserves every award for his unbelievably connectable and yet distant portrayal of Gatsby. Toby MaGuire has an unbelievable sense of disconnect from the audience, that leaves enough intrigue to follow him but never leaves us enough of likability to trust him. Carrey Mulligan gives a DYNAMITE performances as Daisy, quiet and naive but goodhearted and victimized. And Joel Edgerton plays an unforgettable Tom, full of fearlessness and ego, perhaps finding himself a bit untouchable through his name. The result is four powerhouse performances that I followed each of.

The worst part of this movie was its own original score. But since the soundtrack took up most of the film, it has to be said that the soundtrack was fascinatingly poignant, brilliantly structured again to allow us to connect with a time period none of us were familiar with. It made bad music useful, and great music recognizably great. It just worked.

I can't defend Gatsby as a perfect film. But I can defend it as a film that works to the best of its style. And for that, I have to give it an enormous amount of respect and admiration.

Rank - 4/5