The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald

Why not start off a blog with a classic, right?

"An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Long Island-set novel, where Midwesterner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await."-IMDb

First things first, the 2013 movie as a standalone.

 With Leonardo DicCaprio as a lead, the acting was exceptional. The movie was visually stunning, with heavy emphasis on Gatsby’s grand parties and the mood. The 1920’s aesthetic was there, even if it wasn’t always accurate.  As for the plot, it was coherent, which is a bare minimum that not many movies today really meet. Daisy’s family life wasn’t touched on enough, personally. We didn’t see enough of her with her daughter, which made her inner conflict at the end of the movie seem inappropriate, but overall the tone of the book was there. The major hang-ups I had with the movie, was that it seemed… over processed. There was a heavy (and not very subtle) use of CGI, and the soundtrack, while overall good, didn’t include much of the jazz age part of the 20’s. This seems like a missed opportunity. I do appreciate the dark humor, though, in playing ‘A Little Party Never Killed Nobody’ during a scene centered around the pool where Gatsby died.

In comparison to the book?

The movie missed very few scenes from the book, often quoting from it directly, and captured the characters well. The awkwardness of Nick, the humor of Gatsby and Daisy’s reunion, and Jordan’s daring all came through on screen. The parties in the movie were even more elaborate than in the book, most likely to exceed the expectations of what modern parties are like. The eclectic partygoers and lush lifestyles of the rich New York was captured effectively  Much of the symbolism of the book is reflected in the movie, the most obvious being the unreachable green light. The last chapter of the book, though, was what really made the movie. It kept the contrast with the beginning and end of the story, of overcrowded palaces to empty mansions. Nicks fall into depression, going from someone naïve to someone jaded.

Overall:

                A good movie, and worth the watch, but due to the overused CGI and modern soundtrack, it will most likely become dated quickly.