The Great Gatsby Movie Review
by Melissa Wells
“Jay, you can’t repeat the past.” The words of Nick Carraway, played by Tobey Maguire, said to the rich and charming Jay Gatsby, played by Leonardo Dicaprio. Nick is informing Jay Gatsby he cannot repeat the past to fix the mistakes he had made. But with that quote, Jay gets the idea to actually try and repeat what happened between him and the woman he had once loved. The girl he so happens to love is Nick Carraway’s cousin, Daisy Buchanan, played by Carey Mulliagan.
Baz Luhrmann directed the movie The Great Gatsby but he also directed Moulin Rouge, Australia, and Romeo and Juliet. F. Scott Fitzgerald and remake of the first version made in 1974 base The Great Gatsby on a book. It’s about a once poor man, Jay Gatsby, falling in love with a rich girl, Daisy Buchanan, then getting sent away for war. He comes back and the woman he loves is gone. Jay Gatsby throws wild parties and hopes she’ll return to him. Nick Carraway is Daisy’s cousin that moved to Long Island, New York and lives in an old grounds keeper’s house. He ends up living across the bay from Daisy and her Husband, Tom Buchanan, and next to Jay Gatsby. The unique part about this movie was the way the parties were thrown.
The part that grabbed me was the way the graphics were. They made the movie look so much better. With the technology we have today, we could make Fitzgerald imagined in The Great Gatsby into a reality. The house was nice and big like he wanted it to be, the cars were beautiful and new looking and the music to the movie was so catchy. It was so brilliantly done; there is no way to just choose one favorite part. Jay Gatsby grabbed my attention because at points he was being sneaky and dark, then at others, he was out and open with Nick. They finally met Daisy again, he was so shy and nervous to meet her, he ran out of Nick’s house and came back after he realized he wanted to see her again. Jay Gatsby has different sides to him. Gatsby hides the fact that he is a bootlegger and sells alcohol illegally to drug stores. He does not want Daisy to know that is how he gained all the wealth and the ability to buy the things he has now.
The Great Gatsby is a must-see movie. It has all kinds of love and romance in it and look into the Roarin’ Twenties and what life was like back then for the people living in that era. Since this movie is rated PG-13, anyone can see it. It would most likely be adults who go and see this movie or teenagers. The acting is just superb. The actors actually acted like the character and were into to play the part. The music was beautiful as well. The artists actually took time to make music for the movie that sounded like it was made back in the 1920’s, artists like Jay-Z and Florence + The Machines, were featured in the movie were that it was made more like Fitzgerlad had imagined it in his novel, like Gatsby’s mansion. It was mad big for parties he held on the weekends and fancy to show he was rich and could afford it. Also, the different styles back in the 1920’s, girls with only short hair, no long hair, and the dress the wore and the suits the men always wore. It also caught the best perspective of everyone drinking. Nick Carraway never drank very much until he moved to Long Island and started to hang out with Tom Buchanan. It was also great on the dramatic parts. They would Show them in slow motion and let youknow it was a dramatic part, like when Daisy Buchanan accidently hit Mrytle Wilson in Gatsby’s car. This movie deserves 5 out of 5 stars. The acting was amazing, the setting was realistic and the music went with the movie. Also remember, “That’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”
About The Author
