Mesmerizing

Rating: 9/10 (29 August 2013)

Rich man Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) befriends Nick Carraway (Toby McGhuire), but his real intention is to get close to Nick's cousin, Daisy (Carey Mulligan), who is currently married to Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Oh, oh! This is basically a love story. Okay, a rich man's love story.
I think we might have more of an appreciation for Classic stories if they were updated into modern times, somewhat. Hey, I said "somewhat." Not a reboot, but like this one with upbeat music, some CGI and, yes, narration that helps fill in the blank parts in a story. Why? Because it all worked in here. I was mesmerized.
I do not understand why DiCaprio has not been awarded an Oscar. He is a very talented actor all the time, and he makes everyone around him better and it definitely showed in here. I was surprised at all the other characters' performances. I have new respect for Toby Mcguire, Carey Mulligan and the best - other than DiCaprio's performance - was Joel Edgerton's character Tom Buchanan. They were perfect.
From time to time, you will see sentences appear on the screen as Nick narrates. These words are some of F.Scott Fitzgerald's writing and this was most clever. Kudos.
It doesn't matter that Carey Mulligan was not the most beautiful woman that could have played Daisy. Her looks give off that very pretty, perpetual youthful look. And, as far as Gatsby was concerned "the heart wants what the heart wants." End of story. We cared about Gatsby - although for a long time we really didn't know anything about him (that comes later) – and wanted him to succeed. Maybe he reminds us of someone we wanted and couldn't get for whatever reason. Again, end of story.
In a rich man's environment you would expect the sets to be grandiose and most beautiful and they were. The music and limited CGI were spot on as was the cinematography.
In the beginning you will hear that many people knew very little about Gatsby and were those stories about him true? But, then again, he threw spectacular parties and who cares?
You will be told the truth, in time. You will find out where Gatsby's money comes from. Why he waited 5-years before looking Daisy up again since he left abruptly back in the day. You will also learn Gatsby's real story and how he came to be The Great Gatsby in the minds of the many. How good is that? See, the Classics don't have to be boring. Okay, now bring on That Scarlett Letter (9/10)
Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.