Review - The Great Gatsby (2013)

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan.
Directed by Baz Luhrmann.

Synopsis: A midwestern war veteran Nick Carraway gets drawn into the lavish world of his millionaire neighbor Jay Gatsby. Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession and tragedy await.

The Great Gatsby is an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald Long Island set-novel of the same name. The movie features a star-studded cast and they did a pretty good job from start to finish - I was impressed with Tobey Maguire and how he was able to smoothly carry such a vibrant film. The movie opens up with Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) talking to his doctor and recounting some events of his life. He speaks about his cousin Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), her husband Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton) and his very interesting rich neighbor - Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). Basically the entire movie is set in a flashback told by Nick and there are voice-overs from him throughout which is helpful and clears up points within the story.

From the moment Nick Carraway brought us to 1922 New York, we are witnesses to the extravagance of The Great Gatsby. Baz Luhrmann puts the roar in the term "Roaring 20s". Probably the parties weren't as extravagant as was portrayed in this movie but my god was it energetic and a sight to see. Very over-the-top scenes, music selections and visuals, which I consider to be a treat to the audience. Luhrmann made The Great Gatsby his own and executed it in fine style. Gatsby's parties were wild, the characters were fun -- but underneath all that extravagance, The Great Gatsby is really about romance. A romance between Jay and Daisy who after being separated for 5 years was finally reunited. After all the wildness in the first half of the film, it slows down and becomes more of the Leonardo and Carey show. Baz does a good job with the story-telling. At first it was all about Nick and Gatsby's developing friendship; then afterwards it becomes more intriguing and emotional as we delve into Gatsby's obsession with Daisy, their relationship and his secrets.

Without a doubt, the strongest attributes of The Great Gatsby is its visuals and soundtrack. Usually the soundtrack helps build the atmosphere in these era films but Baz Luhrmann tried something new in terms of musical selections -- and it worked out quite well surprisingly. By infusing hip hop/pop/r&b songs from current artistes into a film which took place in the 1920s (and making it actually sound smooth) warrants some praise. At first it might sound weird but as the movie goes on, you get used to it and it's impressive. Even with all these added technical elements, the film still felt like the roaring 1920s and I had fun with it.

The only annoying thing about this movie was Jay Gatsby's constant "old sport" talk but overall this movie was fun, vibrant and had an interesting story.

Rating: 8/10