A bit too much style, but a very interesting portrayal of the novel

Rating: 8/10 (17 January 2015)

I like a lot of people who went to high school read the Great Gatsby and while I wouldn't say I loved it, I do respect the story and understand why people love the book. Seeing the advertisements for this movie I was definitely intrigued in seeing it but I was put off a bit by the musical choices in the trailer. And Baz Luhrmann's style is a bit too much for me sometimes. This movie has received a polarizing response from critics and audiences, and I can see why people feel that way even though I personally thought it was a good movie. There are some things about the film that don't work for me, but there is greatness within.
As far as what happens in the novel, the movie is very faithful to the plot. The emotion I'd say is done justice about 85 to 90 percent of the time. At times I felt a bit hollow towards it because Luhrmann has a tendency to throw a lot of things on the screen like he's going, "Look what I can do with my toys!" but a lot of the visual metaphors fit the theme of the story and there are more than enough times that he allows the actors to shine in their roles. The music is another thing that puts me off because I don't think it fits the time period the story is set in. I'm not saying the music is God awful and it's fine by me if you like it, but I didn't think it fit in the movie. And even though I do understand why it ends the way it does, I have to admit that the ending really upsets me since Nick is the only one who knows the truth about Gatsby and how Daisy and Tom don't even bother to back up Nick's story, and showing just how shallow people in society can be.
The actors are very well chosen for their parts. DiCaprio is probably the best actor they could've chosen for Gatsby, and manages to balance the charm of the character with the hopefulness Gatsby has for Daisy coming back to him. Carey Mulligan is pretty good as Daisy but I've never been a huge fan of the character of Daisy. Even in the book. Joel Edgerton is excellent as Tom and is really great at making him a straight up unlikeable character. And finally, the frequently and unfairly maligned Tobey Maguire. I've seen a lot of people say that he was miscast as Nick Carraway, but I couldn't disagree more. I've always liked Maguire as an actor, and he's the perfect avatar of leading us into this strange world that we as the audience don't understand. This I'd say is one of his best performances. Probably my favorite part was the friendship between Nick and Gatsby which I thought was kind of cool since Leo and Tobey are good friends in real life.
Despite some of my personal nitpicks, I do appreciate this film and what the filmmakers tried to bring to the table and I'd recommend it to anyone who's read the book or if you're a fan of Baz Luhrmann.