A Surprisingly "Great" Gatsby

Rating: 8/10 (21 May 2013)

It's been almost a week since I saw this film, and it's been on my mind since I left the theatre. I went in with quite low expectations; I hated Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet adaptation, and to make it worse, most critics aren't exactly predicting this film to make a splash at the Oscars. With both of those things in mind, I was pretty much ready to have one of my favourite books be torn apart by incompetency.
But that didn't happen.
The movie starts with Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) giving a brief introduction to the setting of Fitzgerald's classic. Even this early in the film, there are some alterations that will drive many fans of the book crazy. As the first act continues, we are introduced to the Roaring Twenties, and wow, Luhrmann makes them roar. During these opening sequences, we hear the now infamous Jay-Z soundtrack very frequently, and although I initially hated the idea of it, I actually found myself enjoying it during the film. I'm not really sure why, looking back, but it just seemed to fit really well.
As we are introduced to some of the main characters, a few of the actors really stood out. Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan seemingly walks off the page; he IS Tom. I also really enjoyed Carey Mulligan, who seems to have divided critics. Now, as far as Tobey Maguire is concerned, I thought he was okay. It should be noted that I thought he got better as the movie went on, and I think this is because he's a better supporting actor than a lead actor.
As the first act closes with the same over-the-top crazy partying it began with, we finally meet the namesake of the novel. Up to this point, I had been quite entertained, but there wasn't anything that really snatched my attention. When Leonardo DiCaprio enters, he does just that. As someone who was actually quite skeptical about Leo in this role, I couldn't have been more wrong. While he's on screen, you see the person that Fitzgerald and Carraway describe, and he is exactly as they describe him. Wow. That's all that came to mind.
As the second act begins, DiCaprio takes over the lead role and Maguire moves to a more supporting role, and this is where Fitzgerald's story really begins. From here on, the movie is fantastic. Many people will be alienated by the alterations, the in-your-face special effects, the soundtrack, or whatever else people are complaining about during the first act, but if you stick through it, you will not be disappointed. I know some people haven't read the book, so I went get into details about this part, but if you have read the book, I really do think you will be impressed by the second half of the movie.
When the film reached its concluding moments, I was completely satisfied. For me, it really did justice to the book, and unlike Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet, I felt this film showed a real respect for its source material, and told an accurate and thoroughly entertaining version of Fitzgerald's masterpiece. Looking once again at the reviews I've read, I have to wonder how many people just watched the first half, or maybe were so alienated by the time it was over they just completely tuned out the second half. For me, that's really the only explanation for the negative reviews.
Ultimately, this is a great movie. It's a beautiful film (with or without 3D), it's well acted, and it really does a great job with Fitzgerald's work.
So, I was wrong, and I'm really happy I was. Mark me down as a Luhrmann fan, and I'm looking forward to his next efforts.
RATING: 8/10