The Great Gatsby

May 10, 2013

Jays Rating:
Actors: /

F. Stott Fitzgerald classic novel is once again adapted to the big screen in the romantic drama The Great Gatsby. It’s the 1920’s and an aspiring writer played by Tobey Maguire moves into a Long Island neighborhood next door to a rich playboy named Jay Gatsby played by Leonardo Dicaprio. Gatsby’s lavish parties attract his neighbors cousin Daisy played by Tarey Mulligan and her husband Tom Buchanan played by Joel Edgerton which ultimately leads to tragedy. I have to admit I never did read the book The Great Gatsby nor did I see any of the remakes including the movie from 1974 starring Robert Redford. The story itself was very intriguing and the acting across the board was excellent but the interpretation of the source material has me scratching my head. (Maybe a couple other body parts also) I have a hard time imagining that the original novel or any of the remakes were as flashy or over the top as this film. In the first 40 minutes the music and dioluge made me think somebody slipped something into my popcorn or drink. When I told my wife that the director Boz Learmann is either a genius or just over the top she said it’s even more wile if you can see it. She said it is in 3D and it had lights flashing, colors popping out and people moving around like they are in fast motion. This did settle down in the second act as we actually begin to digest the story. Even though there is some depth to the story the characters are shallow and that is the biggest issue with this film. There is so much to enjoy but other directing decisions are just hard to tolerate. Audience members will either love or hate this film and I’m somewhere in the middle with a C rating.

This movie has been given a PG13 rating by the MPAA