A Love Story Like No Other

Rating: 7/10 (7 February 2015)

I was not a fan of the book this movie was based on. So I was already going in with extremely low expectations. I was not completely unfounded in my thoughts. Jay Gatsby is a rich war veteran in the 1920s. He wasn't always this way but he is now. Mr. Gatsby throws lavish parties every weekend from his home in Long Island. People from all over go to these parties. Mr. Gatsby's neighbor (a writer who works on Wall Street) is the first person to get an actual invitation (the rest come uninvited) from Jay himself. He immediately becomes good friends with Gatsby, and learns a few things about him. First, Jay Gatsby's life is not all law-abiding. Second, Mr. Gatsby throws his parties for one reason: a woman he met 5 years before that he holds on to hope will show up at the party and they could fall in love. This girl happens to be his neighbor's cousin. This is a love story like no other. However, I wasn't the biggest fan for many reasons. The script was strange, told from a narrative of Nick Carraway (Mr. Gatsby's neighbor) as he writes the story within the mental institution he is in. The cinematography was surreal, and it seemed like a good chunk of the film was in front of a green screen when it wasn't needed. And worst of all was the soundtrack. This is a score filled with hip hop in a film that takes place in the 20s. It doesn't fit, and doesn't work.
Soundtrack: 6- Certain portions of the soundtrack worked, and the hip hop songs did capture the feeling of the portions of the film they were in, but it did not fit the time period.
Script: 6- Too much time went into visuals, and not enough went into the script. There were some things just didn't work. However I did enjoy the idea of the narrative element (something I usually cant stand). It just worked here.
Originality: 10- When doing a review on a well known movie adaptation of a book, you have to think of the originality of the story as one part as well as how the director created their own unique vision. This was definitely an original piece.
Cinematography: 7- This movie was very visually appealing, with bright lively colors. The cinematography gave a surreal feeling to the film, which was nice. However, there were times where the film felt like I was watching actors in front a green screen, which took me out a little.
Casting: 10- The cast was well made, all the actors are very capable.
Acting: 4- Baz Luhrmann has a specific style when he asks his actors to do something. He likes the art of heightened acting. However, these actors seemed to go too far in some parts, and not as far in others. The inconsistencies led to the low score.
Overall: 7.2