Review: The Great Gatsby

Despite the world famous book and many previous adaptions of this famous tale, this is my first viewing of The Great Gatsby, so I was going into this with an open mind.

When looking at the trailer, I was intrigued by the story, characters involved being played by some of my favorite actors/actresses especially Leonardo DiCaprio. Also with Baz Luhrmann directing it, I was expecting a great soundtrack, top visuals and first class costumes and set designs.

On the technical side, I was not disappointed. Some of the sweeping angles that were used showing New York in the roaring 20's were definitely its highest points of the film. It was thrilling seeing Baz Luhrman's directing style using all of the technology available. As expected, the set designs and costumes were top-notch and we should be expecting some Oscar nominations, if not then some BAFTA or Golden Globe nominations. Another mention has to be the gorgeous soundtrack. A great blend of 20's tunes and modern pop/rap records that should be the big attraction for the mainstream audience.

For the performances, DiCaprio's portrayal of Jay Gatsby was fascinating. He seems to like taking the challenge of complex characters and he is becoming more of a masterful actor. He showed great depth to his character which never made you sure on who he actually was. I enjoyed Toby Maguire as Nick Carraway. His narrative skills were a nice addition and his character was a nice opposition for Gatsby's. The sweet and gorgeous Carey Mulligan showed a great complexity within her character as well, to even challenge DiCaprio. I really hope Mulligan gets more roles in big films like this one. Joel Edgerton's role was a bit underused in my opinion. I really wanted to know about his character which again fascinated me.

As I've never read the book, I was interested to find out what makes this story so successful. I thought it was a lot sadder than expected, but it also showed a certain part of life around America in the 1920's.

Overall, the film sucked me in and I was introduced to a period and set of characters that intrigued to the very end. It's a very sad tale that will keep you thinking after your viewing. The technical side of the film was just brilliant and alone is worth watching on the big screen. I know I will be listening to its soundtrack for weeks to come, and this will attract me to its previous adaptations to see where it ranks with the others.

Rating: 8/10