THE GREAT GATSBY movie
Only very rarely will I watch a movie of a book that I have read, because I am all too often disappointed.
BUT, I read The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald so long ago that the intricate details of the novel had become slightly hazy,
AND, my friend had received some free tickets to see the latest from Baz Luhrmann!
We saw it in standard cinema mode – it was too early in the day for us (and our stomachs) to watch it in 3D.
What did I think?
Leonardo DiCaprio made the perfect Jay Gatsby (lots of faraway dreamy looks) and I think Tobey Maguire suited the geeky Nick Carraway. Carey Mulligan was good as Daisy, but I think many other female actresses could have played that helpless female part equally well.
I was glad to see so many Australian actors in the cast but sometimes seeing such familiar faces speaking with American accents can be jarring for me. Oh hey, there’s Vince Colosimo… how’s it going Isla?
The only casting I couldn’t quite reconcile was the much loved Aussie actor Joel Edgerton playing the role of the distasteful Tom Buchanan… He played it well, but just don’t think it suits him.
For those that have seen it – my favourite scenes were those involving Daisy coming for tea – so cute, so funny…
It may not be to everyone’s tastes but I really enjoyed this reinvigorated version of the story – the modern music and the hyper colour palette, Luhrmann’s trademark, combined to create something memorable on this occasion. While I love the fact that the soundtrack played such a large part in this interpretation, I was relieved that none of the lead characters burst out into song.
While The Great Gatsby storyline itself does not have enough positivity in the end note for me to award The Great Gatsby movie 5 stars, it is worth seeing for the beautiful cinematography alone… and of course Leonardo in some very nice suits does not hurt one bit. ;)
If you’d prefer to read the novel before seeing the movie, The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald ( Booktopia | Amazon | Kobobooks | Indiebound ).
Have you read The Great Gatsby and/or watched the movie?
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