Well Deserved Praise

Sadly Over-hyped

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

As a junior in high school, The Great Gatsby was a required book that we read and analyze. At first getting into the story and understanding the world of Nick and Gatsby was a struggle, but for it to be brought to life many years later certainly helped me gain insight into what it would've been like. I was astonished with the amount of direct quotes that came from the book. Also, there were a few scenes where the directors literally made it match a scene from the novel and it was wonderful. Definitely recommend reading the book if you already haven't and watching the movie as well!

I'm gonna start off by saying that this is not vitriol related to the book. I didn't think the book was really spectacular. It was an interesting period piece for sure, but it really didn't catch me or move me. This movie. This...this thing, this creation. It's not worthy anyone's time. Baz Luhrmann as a director has no idea what the hell he's doing. His Romeo and Juliet film was dumb enough on its own (Dancing with guns, enough said), but this film started off in the bottom of the barrel and dug a basement for itself, then fell through to Hell. The beginning sets a bad enough precedent; Nick is apparently institutionalized for anger issues and alcoholism that were never present in the story, and the plot device of him being institutionalized is ultimately pointless. Why the hell would you make such a stupid change when it's largely inconsequential? The infusion of modern radio music leaves me scratching my head even now. The actors for Tom and Nick actually fit their characters relatively well, and DiCaprio does a great job as usual, but for chrissake even their acting couldn't save this trainwreck. If it wasn't for the safety net of the source material, only god knows how much worse Luhrmann could've made this.

WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE??? WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY DID HE DESERVE TO DIE? NO

I suppose the thought behind hiring Baz Luhrmann to direct THE GREAT GATSBY was that he could bring the Roaring Twenties as described in F. Scott Fitzgerald's book to life in a lavish, vivid, and colourful way and he does that all right. The first thirty minutes of this film is a headache-inducing overload of the senses, with everything directed in a way which makes over-the-top sound like a tame description. It's as if a kid ate a jar of sugar and then went berserk with tins of paint in an all-white room. The effect is nausea-inducing, and the worst thing for me is the use of anachronistic music (hip hop) and the like instead of period-era fare. The rest of the film settles down a bit, but the story still feels lightweight and drawn out, with a minimum of characterisation. Leonardo DiCaprio does the best he can with what he's given but you feel a bit sorry for him due to the lack of direction he receives, while others like Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan are miscast and out of place. Isla Fisher is embarrassingly bad. This is the kind of disappointment that I do my best to erase from my memory soon after watching.