Nick Carraway finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbour, known for his wild parties and named Gatsby.
This is the first version of this story I have seen, I just thought that would be the best way to open this review. I am not comparing it to anything else, which is probably sometimes a good thing when it comes to a film which is a remake or retell of a story which is well-known. The story I also did not know anything about, so I really went into this film blind and knew nothing about it. What I did know is that Baz Luhrmann directed and co-wrote it so I was expecting something similar to Moulin Rouge and in that sense I was not disappointed.
The story is told from Nick and it really did seem like a massive build up and forever into the film before we actually see Gatsby for the very first time. I thought this was such a brilliant way to do it as it built up suspense on eventually getting to see this man we had heard some many different things about. I mean yes everyone will know that it’s Leonardo DiCaprio but it still builds it up in a fantastic way as we are not sure what his character is going to be like.
He does live up to the hype old sport, yes I went there. If you have seen the film you will understand that phrase is used a lot! But we soon start to realize that this is after all a love story. Everything Gatsby has done has been for love, for Daisy who just happens to be Nick’s cousin. Everything soon falls into place and we get the back story of a romance which actually started 5 years earlier, but I won’t spoil any of the details about this. It is good to see it unfold on the screen, I have to admit that I was not entirely sure how it was all going to end or even which way it was going in general.
I must mention the music in the film and how amazing it all sounded. Different versions of already known songs with a very modern current day edge, along with the dancing in the club scenes at Gatsby’s home. It really worked very well and made it very artistic with it actually being in the early 1900′s. Something not many directors could pull off, that’s where the similarity with Moulin Rouge came into it.
This was a film which seemed to take forever to eventually come out as I remember seeing the trailer about this time last year, but it seems it had some issues over release date. But I really did enjoy this film, even though it did feel quite long. I’m not saying that was a bad thing just towards the end it made me wonder how long it had been going for. It does have a bit of everything when it comes to people, life and relationships. Adultery and cheating is one of the main things about it really, let’s face it the film makes it look pretty cool and exciting!
About DiCaprio, how many times are you allowed to fall in love with the same man over and over again? In different films of course, as he really does just have an incredible on-screen presence and perfect for this role. He really is such a fantastic actor and often not given enough praise in my opinion. This made me love Carey Mulligan even more as well, even though Daisy disappointed me a lot but cannot say why! Probably one of the best films to come out so far this year.
