The Great Gatsby is a newly released 2013 film directed by Baz Luhrmann as an interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. Many stars are set as the main characters including Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Toby Maguire as Nick Carraway and Carey mulligan as Daisy Buchanan. Although those were the main characters, other stars included Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan, Isla Fisher as Myrtle Wilson, and Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker. The story is told through the snarrator’s point of view, Nick Carraway, who is writing his thoughts down on a typewriter. Nick Carraway is not only Gatsby’s neighbor, but also Daisy’s cousin. As the plot unfolds, Gatsby is reunited with his long lost love Daisy and they soon begin to have an affair. After Tom finds out of the affair, he becomes furious and eventually leads to him framing Gatsby into being responsible for the death of Myrtle. At the end of the film, George who was Myrtles husband kills Gatsby in his pool. The film is set in New York City, primarily on long island. Many other factors that contributed to the film include the soundtrack, which embodied work from many artists such as Jay-Z, Beyonce and Andre 3000. Although I originally went to see the movie to see an interpretation of the book I just read, I soon realized this film had a lot to offer.

Through this experience of watching The Great Gatsby, my main question I was hoping to answer was how the film was alike and different from the novel. While the main plot points were the same, the film portrayed what scenes completely different than what I pictured in my head while reading the book. In addition, I pictured the characters looking differently. Nevertheless, the movie did a good job of giving viewers an idea of the past. New York City and Long Island were shown in a very realistic way. Also, Gatsby’s mansion was depicted, as I would have imagined it. While the movie provided a good visual for the events in the book, I would still recommend reading the real deal.

Some of the better aspects of the film included Gatsby’s parties, the driving scenes, and the end of the film. More specifically speaking, when Nick Carraway gets an invite to Gatsby’s party, considering no one is ever invited. Nick, also known as the narrator explaining the story, walks into his neighbor’s huge mansion in hopes of meeting Gatsby. While Nick is walking into Gatsby’s enormous extravagant house, he meets up with Jordan, and eventually encounters Gatsby. While the stage presence was a little interesting, I thought it was a perfectly cliché way to introduce Gatsby in the film. One thing I did notice about the character of Gatsby is that I thought he would be a little bit older. In addition to Gatsby’s parties, I enjoyed the dramatic drag races from the west egg through the valley of ashes and into New York City. Lastly, I thought that the ending of the film was a good way to sum up the entire story. At the end, the film concludes with Nick finishing typing the story on his typewriter and putting it into a book. These specific plot points stood out to me as the best aspects of the film.

Overall, the acting and script was pretty fluid. While there were a number of awkward parts and interesting language used, I thought the film writers did a good job of portraying the time of the roaring twenties. The characters attire and hairstyles added to the effect. In addition, the vintage cars were very accurate. Along with the acting and script, I enjoyed the soundtrack. While I don’t think the soundtrack did a fantastic job of representing the time, I liked the music. Along with the soundtrack not matching very well with the time period, I would have to say my only other complaint would be some of the awkward encounters and conversations. In my opinion, I thought it was a very awkward encounter at the plaza hotel when Tom Buchanan confronted Gatsby about his affair with Daisy. Other than that, I believe it was an overall solid film.

This film should interest anyone who enjoys action movies or wants to see an interpretation of the real novel. All ages would find this film enjoyable considering it is depicting one of the greatest classics of American Literature. This film is definitely a film that should not be missed. Additionally, the film is a long one so anyone planning on seeing it should make sure they have two and a half hours to spend. More information about this film can be found online and at most movie theatres. I recommend this film to anyone who would enjoy an action packed twist on an American Classic.