Not perfectly true to the novel and not a perfect film

Rating: 8/10 (16 June 2013)

The most prominent feature in this adaptation is its flamboyant style, which throws all caution to the wind and mixes 20's-jazz-aesthetics with modern pop music. The parties, with their expensive fireworks, performers and all-around over-the-top recklessness, would drive the Queen of England to a quick bankruptcy.
Leonardo DiCaprio is an OK Gatsby. It's a difficult role to play well but I think, ultimately, that he succeeds. I have my own views about the character of Daisy that don't always go hand in hand with Carey Mulligan's version, but mostly she does a marvelous job. Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan steals the show, especially in the climactic hotel room scene near the end. You really understand these characters and, sometimes, relate.
The effect with the green light seen across the bay looks cool but is milked way too much, I got bored of it halfway through, it should've been used sparingly. The framing device with Nick Carraway in a mental institution is completely unnecessary, and I wish Luhrmann would've spared us the typewriter text filling the screen as Tobey Maguire quoted Fitzgerald's lines, like in some emo music video.