At last the movie we have all been waiting for – The Great Gadsby – with lots of pomp and hype, this moving has hit our cinema screens to mixed reviews. Since the film’s trailers have started appearing, I have seen more and more people reading The Great Gadsby at bus stops and trains. The cinema was packed (in contrast to when we saw Promised Land and only 2 of us where in the whole cinema). So clearly, the making the movie of Fitzgerald’s classic can only be a good thing. More people reading classics. More people supporting the Film industry. And yet the critics, literary and film boffins slate the movie. The guardian giving it a lowly 2 out of 5. Poor show I say, old sport. Give the film a chance.
Overall verdict – an entertaining film, bringing the classics to a broad audience. The best adaption of The Great Gadsby? Probably not, but none the less a film worth seeing.
Film Info:
- 12A
- 143 mins
- Drama
- Directed by Baz Luhrmann, starring Leonardo DiCarprio, Tobey Maguire, Callan McAuliffe, Carey Mulligan, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton
Synopsis:
The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Fitzgerald’s magnum opus, The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream.[1]
(Source: Wikipedia – and yes, I am being lazy.. things to do, people to see).
Baz Luhrmann, is well known for Moulin Rouge, as well as the modern version of Romeo & Juliet (also DiCaprio). If you liked the feel of those movies. And if you liked what Luhrmann did to Shakespear in the latter, then I think you will like The Great Gadsby. It is colourful and loud and really highlights the excess of the 1920s. It has great costumes and fairy tale over the top sets. The Great Gadsby’s house is an unbelievable monstrosity making you feel as if you indeed just landed in a fairy tale (or a nightmare). If you want to be entertained, the film will entertain you. With lots to see and with its great cinematography it is a spectacle no less.
Watch the trailer
My overall movie rating for The Great Gadsby:
Would my husband like this film? Possibly.
Did my friend like it? I think she enjoyed the film, but feels that the moulin rouge-sque approach to the film didn’t do the great classic just.
Likeability of characters – 8/10 (good characters, great cast)
General story line – 8/10 (how can you challenge the original classic, though many say the film lost some of the subtleties of the book)
The Ending – 8/10 (how else could it end, but in tragedy)
Overall? I wouldn’t say that this is the movie of the year, (maybe this film is?), but it was enjoyable and definitely worth while seeing and I certainly enjoyed it more than the last 2 films or so I have seen.
