Hardships of love, manipulation, and media

Rating: 9/10 (14 March 2015)

The love story in this movie and the depths Gatsby goes to in order to be with the woman he loves and who loves him reminds one of what it means to live. Not just to be alive but to really live.
As Gatsby follows the pursuit of one of the things that really makes us human (the ability to love and fall deeply in love), he has to go against the rules set out by humanity (pursuing a married woman) which highlights a beautiful yet saddening truth of the institution of marriage, and an even more beautiful and saddening truth about being in love.
This movie reminds me that people tend to remember the bad instead of the good in people and their actions, bringing up an important issue that if only people understood and "walked a mile" in Gatsby's shoes, they would understand where he is coming from and perhaps would follow a similar path. However, because of manipulation and media, not all the facts are disclosed, nor are they disclosed honestly, and typically the public eats it all up, as they do in this movie. In this case, the only person who knew the truth beyond the parties involved was Nick, and without his account of the inside scoop, it is possible that we would have pegged Gatsby as more of an antagonist than a protagonist.
Though the movie portrays elegant, rich, and boisterous parties with beautiful people, cars, and homes (all which made for great movie aesthetics), it reminds me of the saddening truth that these painfully heartbreaking situations happen in real life and affect real people, even if they are not so dramatized.