Great F. Scott! Gatsby remains Gatsby, after all.

Rating: 9/10 (11 May 2013)

F. Scott Fitzgerald certainly was one of America's famous writers. He knew the world of "The Jazz Age". Alcohol was illegal, morals were looser, women had their hair and skirts shorter and there was the haves (Rich) and the have-nots (Poor). It was all good for a moment and then just like that...it was all gone. So, strictly speaking, if you got yourself into the world of Fitzgerald with his third book that came out in 1925, "The Great Gatsby" (I know I have), then you wait and see what Gatsby has in store for you. By Gatsby, I do mean Baz Luhrmann, that visionary wild genius who brought us "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet", "Strictly Ballroom" and "Moulin Rouge", brings us "The Great Gatsby", but in a way you haven't even visualized it before with the use of mind-blowing 3D. Teaming up with his frequent collaborators, co-writer Craig Pearce and Luhrmann's wife Catherine Martin (who does the film's wonderful production design and lavish costumes), he gives us a "Gatsby" that may not be in your head, but it's everything that we wanted to see and more. Also, he frames the story differently but remains true to the spirit and the words of what Fitzgerald was writing about in the book. (They literally leap off the page and into the screen.) The narrator/observer of the story is Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), a 29-year-old man who buys a house on West Egg, Long Island, New York (which was actually shot in Australia) while working as a bondsman on Wall Street. Set in the summer of 1922 during "The Jazz Age", Nick gets himself caught up in this whole new world where booze, partying and sex were not prohibited. One day, he gets invited to a party run by his next-door neighbor Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). Turns out that this Gatsby has a lot of secrets. Are the rumors (German spy, war hero, killer) even true about him? Nick warms up to him a little bit, as Gatsby wants something special to complete his perfect world. Meet Nick's second cousin Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan). Gatsby has a strong connection to her, as he wants to continue with their relationship that happened five years ago, when she was a rich blossom and he was a poor soldier. Turns out though, she's married to Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton), a racist and sleazy snob who cheats on her with a mistress named Myrtle Wilson (Isla Fisher) whose husband George (Jason Clarke from "Zero Dark Thirty" and TV's "Brotherhood") is an auto mechanic. Once Gatsby and Daisy's relationship starts to bloom, it's all starts to go downhill, which leads to events and secrets that are...quite unexpected. "The Great Gatsby" has something to ask us: Does it look and feel modern, while remaining true to the time period? The answer is yes. Absolutely, yes. What Luhrmann does, amazingly in my opinion, is to combine the world of jazz into the world of hip-hop with help from rap star Jay-Z (who is one of the executive producers of this movie as well as contributing 4 songs to the soundtrack). It all connects somehow, purely anachronistically weird to put modern music in during the summer of 1922, but it works. The brilliant soundtrack also gets help from Beyonce, Andre 3000, Fergie, Sia, will.i.am, Florence + The Machine, Lana Del Rey, the xx, Bryan Ferry, Emeli Sande, Nero, Gotye and the perfect use of Jack White's cover of U2's "Love Is Blindness". As a fan of Luhrmann, I loved that he uses the images that were in the book and turned them into something magical. Images like the green light, Gatsby's yellow Rolls-Royce and the blue sign with the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg will stay with you forever. Plus, the cast is phenomenal. DiCaprio makes a great Gatsby, for sure. He keeps it cool and calm, and there's a fantastic scene in which this Gatsby ultimately snaps at Tom while trying to defend Daisy's honor. Mulligan is a great Daisy, she's a sweet girl on the inside without a doubt, on the outside she's emotionally fragile. Maguire still keeps his boyish charm and gives such a terrific performance as Nick. Edgerton is appropriately sleazy as Tom, Isla Fisher carries some emotions and high spirits in her small role as Myrtle and Clarke has some moments that will ultimately break your heart as George. Also, a wonderful newcomer from Austraila, Elizabeth Debicki is beautifully gorgeous as Jordan Baker and Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan is a solid Meyer Wolfsheim, breaking through the walls of typecasting. "The Great Gatsby" is another golden experience from Luhrmann, a endearingly tragic love story at the core of it, but at the same time, there is also some social commentary going on there too. It's the perfect summer escape from all the superhero movies and action films that are coming out at the movies throughout the summer. It's a wild, enthralling and captivating romantic drama that glows with moments of sheer enchantment. See it in 3D, as Jordan Baker would say: "It kinda takes your breath away." Fitzgerald would've been proud for sure.