Review of The Great Gatsby (2013) by Liz K — 24 Sep 2014

The Great Gatsby Movie Review.

Once again F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic The Great Gatsby is brought to life on the big screen, but this time with much more flare and pizzazz. This movie has definitely made its way into my top 10 favorite movies. It flawlessly brings the 1920's to the 21st century. The music, costumes, and casting play a huge part in making The Great Gatsby one of the best movie renditions of a book I've seen in a long time.

Director Baz Luhrmann transports famous artists such as Jay Z, Beyoncé, Lana Del Ray, and Fergie into the 1920's. These dynamic performers add a modern day twist to the common jazz music of the twenties. Their up-beat bass line combines with the brass instrumentation to create some sort of musical magic. The song "Crazy in Love" (originally by Beyoncé) remade by Emeli Sande and the Bryan Ferry Orchestra was one of the songs I though was remade very well. I almost like 1920's version better than the original. The whole soundtrack was actually really phenomenal, I know I went out and bought it when it came out and I can't possibly be the only one who did. I also can't be the only one who was in love with the costume design.

The costume design for Gatsby was phenomenal. I couldn't have pictured a better rendition of the roaring twenties than feathers, fringe and classy suits. The first time we see a party at Gatsby's, we see the costumes in full swing. I have never seen so many fabulous costumes! I was in dance class for 10 years so I've had my fair share of sparkle and fringe. It seemed every woman was either decked out in feathered head-dresses or long scarves tied around their head. Don't even get me started on the short hair, I have never considered chopping off all of my hair until we were exposed to Daisy Buchanan for the first time.

The casting of Gatsby was overall pretty well done. First of all we have Carey Mulligan, who plays Daisy Buchanan, Nick's cousin. Mulligan with her short hair creates the spitting image what I imagined Daisy to look like. I couldn't have picked a better actress to portray her. Next we have Tobey Maguire as the main character Nick Carraway. Maguire does a great job of playing an innocent man caught up in the life and luxury of the upper. And finally we have none other than Jay Gatsby. My absolute favorite part of The Great Gatsby is when the host of the party is revealed to Mr. Carraway. Nick is trailing behind an unseen face talking to him about who he thinks Gatsby is when, right at the peak of the music and the fireworks start exploding, (drum roll please) the amazing Leonardo DiCaprio turns around raising a glass, smile spread across his face revealing that he is none other than the mysterious Jay Gatsby. DiCaprio is still a heart throb and his portrayal of Gatsby was spot on. I wouldn't expect anything less from the wonderful Leo.

Ultimately the remake of The Great Gatsby was very well done. It was very enjoyable for someone who, like me, loved the book and was skeptical of the movie. Even though some of the parts of the book like Nick and Jordan's romance was barely covered at all, I still give a huge thumbs up to Baz Luhrmann, the old sport, for creating this remake and not completely butchering the novel. Like Jay Gatsby said, "Can't repeat the past?...Why of course you can!".