Better Than I Expected

Rating: Null/10 (2 November 2013)

Okay, I am one of those who, when I found out who was doing this version of the famous Fitzgerald story, was prepared to hate it. Hip-hop music in a 1920s story? The director from Moulin Rouge!? I was wrong. This is a good version of the oft-filmed story. Leonardo DiCaprio, never one of my favorites, does pretty well here as Gatsby. The script is very much like that written for the 1974 version, which is my favorite. The photography glistens and I didn't mind the hip-hop music too much! The running time is exactly the same as the 1974 version, and the period details are pretty well done, outside of the fact that Gatsby's beautiful car is about ten years too young for the 1920s. An infamous misspelling of "Ziegfeld", noticeable in the first trailer, has been thankfully corrected for the actual release. I have always been a fan of the 1974 Paramount filming of this story, but I do appreciate the workmanship and the quality of this latest version.