Great Gatsby
Content
Andy Campbell Period 6 Extra Credit Great Gatsby Film Review
I saw the Great Gatsby on Saturday over the three-day weekend. Going into the film, I didn’t know what to expect; I had enjoyed the book but heard mixed reviews about the film. I decided to give it a try, because the cast seemed excellent. I opted not to go with 3D, as it is completely unnecessary. My feelings are mixed; here are my thoughts. Tobey Maguire, cast a Nick, was an appropriate choice. I felt his role was not very important, but it did not need to be. Although Leonardo DiCaprio would not have been my first choice for Gatsby, he did a fine job. He proved to be the strongest actor. The director did a fantastic job of bringing the lavish lifestyle of New York to life. The vivid backdrops, exhilarating soundtrack, and hyper-real crane shots create a lively atmosphere as described in the book. Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and extraordinary wealth is held up as a metaphor for the time period. His motive, to catch the eye of Daisy, is clearer in the movie than in the book. Carey Mulligan, playing Daisy, seemed like a good choice at first, but ultimately turned me off. Whether the overacting was intentional or not, it was starting to bother me. The exaggerated body language and voices seemed way too unnatural and forced. You could tell the director was pushing for this- he wanted the whole movie to be extreme. Everything is visually noisy. The director keeps with his usual theme of connecting old stories to the present. A modern soundtrack makes this all too clear. I guess this movie will be liked by many and hated by many. The themes so critical to the book; the nature of human beings and decadence in the roaring 20’s- appear in the movie, but are lost with the director’s hyper-real vision of the story. At certain points, it felt as though it was being directed while on LSD. I became numb to the special effects and eye-catching visuals; kind of like what I feel when watching a Michael Bay film. The movie screams at you so loud, it becomes difficult to concentrate. In fact, it becomes so loud, it becomes boring. I wish this wasn’t the case, because the movie sets up a great premise and conflict that is overshadowed. Way too much was going on. The best scenes were the scenes taking place in small
rooms with nothing but conversation. The visual attack on the eyes clashed with the interesting plot, compromising the whole theme. The final scenes, which were the emotional climax of the book, are given little importance in the movie. They were not given the time and attention they deserved. Overall, I cannot help but feel that this film was too shallow, and that it did not capture the essence of Fitzgerald’s writing. Unlike the book’s message of critiquing the lifestyle of class of people we hold up to as heroes, the movies fails to convey this important message. We are too soon taken back to digital city scenes and bombastic entertainment. Overall, the Great Gatsby is an alright film, but it is quite forgettable. It is frustrating how great this film could have been, with the magnificent cast. It could have been great if not for the hypnotic visuals that assault the viewer at all times and annoying overacting. I would love to see a film in the future that truly captures the essence of Fitzgerald’s timeless book. So far, no movie has come close to doing justice to the book, although this movie comes the closest.
I saw the Great Gatsby on Saturday over the three-day weekend. Going into the film, I didn’t know what to expect; I had enjoyed the book but heard mixed reviews about the film. I decided to give it a try, because the cast seemed excellent. I opted not to go with 3D, as it is completely unnecessary. My feelings are mixed; here are my thoughts. Tobey Maguire, cast a Nick, was an appropriate choice. I felt his role was not very important, but it did not need to be. Although Leonardo DiCaprio would not have been my first choice for Gatsby, he did a fine job. He proved to be the strongest actor. The director did a fantastic job of bringing the lavish lifestyle of New York to life. The vivid backdrops, exhilarating soundtrack, and hyper-real crane shots create a lively atmosphere as described in the book. Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and extraordinary wealth is held up as a metaphor for the time period. His motive, to catch the eye of Daisy, is clearer in the movie than in the book. Carey Mulligan, playing Daisy, seemed like a good choice at first, but ultimately turned me off. Whether the overacting was intentional or not, it was starting to bother me. The exaggerated body language and voices seemed way too unnatural and forced. You could tell the director was pushing for this- he wanted the whole movie to be extreme. Everything is visually noisy. The director keeps with his usual theme of connecting old stories to the present. A modern soundtrack makes this all too clear. I guess this movie will be liked by many and hated by many. The themes so critical to the book; the nature of human beings and decadence in the roaring 20’s- appear in the movie, but are lost with the director’s hyper-real vision of the story. At certain points, it felt as though it was being directed while on LSD. I became numb to the special effects and eye-catching visuals; kind of like what I feel when watching a Michael Bay film. The movie screams at you so loud, it becomes difficult to concentrate. In fact, it becomes so loud, it becomes boring. I wish this wasn’t the case, because the movie sets up a great premise and conflict that is overshadowed. Way too much was going on. The best scenes were the scenes taking place in small
rooms with nothing but conversation. The visual attack on the eyes clashed with the interesting plot, compromising the whole theme. The final scenes, which were the emotional climax of the book, are given little importance in the movie. They were not given the time and attention they deserved. Overall, I cannot help but feel that this film was too shallow, and that it did not capture the essence of Fitzgerald’s writing. Unlike the book’s message of critiquing the lifestyle of class of people we hold up to as heroes, the movies fails to convey this important message. We are too soon taken back to digital city scenes and bombastic entertainment. Overall, the Great Gatsby is an alright film, but it is quite forgettable. It is frustrating how great this film could have been, with the magnificent cast. It could have been great if not for the hypnotic visuals that assault the viewer at all times and annoying overacting. I would love to see a film in the future that truly captures the essence of Fitzgerald’s timeless book. So far, no movie has come close to doing justice to the book, although this movie comes the closest.
