Saturday, 1 March 2014

Greatest Gatsby so far?

The Great Gatsby (2013)

Directed by Baz Luhrmann this film based on the novel of the same name stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton. In 1920s New York a young man moves into a small house next to the mansion of a recluse who throws huge parties.

I thought this adaptation did a good job of retaining the themes and symbolism of the original novel, looking at the decadence of the age, criticising the American dream and Gatsby's wallowing in his desire for an earlier period of his failed romance. Visually the film is really impressive, while it may rely heavily on CGI it does so in an accomplished manner creating dazzling locals and sweeping camera moves. Where I feel there is a black mark against the film is in the sound track, the usual of contemporary music is an anachronism that sticks out and does take you out of the period.


4/5

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