Review of The Great Gatsby (2013) by Spangle — 18 Dec 2013

Beautiful, extravagent, and as over the top as one would expect, Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby does a brilliant job capturing the beauty and wealth possessed by Gatsby. This film is pure eye candy, yet it does have some substance beneath it and I think it did a swell job capturing the essence of the novel and telling the fateful tale of Jay Gatsby. In addition, the acting, led by Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Carey Mulligan, was great as well.

Only negatives in this film were the beginning, which was far too hectic and scattered, as well as the soundtrack. While I am a fan of hip hop, it seemed extraordinarily out of place in this film, which is supposed to be set in the 1920's. More period appropriate music should have chosen and ultimately, the soundtrack made it seem almost clumsy. However, the sets were beyond gorgeous and with beautiful shot after shot, this should win best production and best costume design on pure beauty alone. Just wow, the eye candy of each shot admittedly won my heart.