In 2013, film director Baz Luhrmann put out his rendition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” This 2h23m long movie is full of romance, drama, and greed. The film is rated pg-13 for violence, sex, and drinking and smoking, but it is definitely worth the view.
The film is set in 1922 during prohibition, the rise of illegal alcohol, and the sudden influx of flapper girls. Tobey Maguire stars as Nick Carraway, an aspiring young man who wants to get in the bond business. Nick finds himself starting his life in New York city, living in a small cottage in the village of West Egg. This village isn’t full of ordinary people, you see. It’s full of people on the come up. New money, new houses, and new jobs surround Nick as he lives, almost invisibly, in his cottage. Across the bay from his house, is his cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) and her husband Tom (Joel Edgerton) Buchanan. They live in East Egg. In their village, they’re surrounded by people who grew up with money. They’ve had it good their whole lives.
The film develops as Nick goes to dinner at the Buchanan’s house. He, the happy couple, and Daisy’s friend Jordan (Elizabeth Debicki) spend the evening wining and dining, until the dinner is stopped short due to a rumor that Tom has found another woman in New York. Eventually Nick goes home to have his first of many mysterious experiences with his next door neighbor.
One night, after a party, Nick gets home late. You can imagine his surprise when he receives an invitation to a party the next morning. This party is at his next door neighbors house, who is known to throw large parties. He’s never invited anyone, and Nick has never met him. At the party, Nick finally gets to meet his mysterious neighbor. His name is Mr. Jay Gatsby, and from the second he steps foot into the party, rumors run rampant. Rumors that he’s killed someone, rumors that he’s the second cousin of Keiser… and Nick doesn’t know what to believe. As far as he can tell, Gatsby is the nicest person he’s met in New York.
This movie takes twists and turns as the story progresses, and ends with a shock that no one would expect. The filmography is absolutely amazing. During the beginning of the film, it’s almost amazing how fast the director can take you through the story, while still developing characters. This method of character development leaves a lot of time for the story to progress in the middle of the movie. The song choice is good at some points, using electro-swing to bring a modern feel to a 100 year old plot. Though the electro-swing was an amazing choice, Baz Luhrmann put rap in the movie, where it didn’t feel right. Rap in a movie about the 1920’s doesn’t feel modern, it just feels disconnected from time. During the party scenes, the colors really popped. The editors that worked on this movie really paid attention to Fitzgerald’s thoughts on how color can portray emotions.
This movie does show some of the little details from the book that readers may look for, but I definitely think they could’ve expanded more on them. For example (for those who’ve watched the movie), the library scene seemed a little out of place. The director definitely could’ve worked it in better, or he could’ve just gone without it.
Though it has it’s little things to criticize, the film is overall amazing. I would give it a 7.5 out of 10, and recommend it to people over the age of 14. The filmography is absolutely amazing, and the music is pretty fitting. All in all, this movie perfectly encapsulates the feeling of the 20’s. And now, I’m going to go listen to some swing music.