Great adaptation of the book

Rating: 9/10 (29 May 2013)

First of all, let me tell you that usually I don't review movies, unless it's a movie that either really impressed me, or it was really bad.
I first saw the trailer of this movie a couple of weeks ago and then I've decided to read the book. I didn't manage to finish the book, (I've read around 80% of the it) and saw the movie. Later I've also watched the one from the 70s to be able to make a comparison.
There are here people who tell that the book is the best and the movie is bad. This is partly true, your imagination when reading the book cannot be surpassed by the vision of one's director. However, I have to say that this is a very good adaptation of the book( nearly as good as Shutter Island, which is the best one I saw until now , in my opinion, of course)
Leonardo DiCaprio does a hell of a job in giving life to the character of Gatsby. He's just like I've imagined while reading the book. So does Carey Mulligan(Daisy) and Joel Edgerton(Tom) too. Unfortunately I cannot say the same about Tobey Maguire(Nick), somehow I've imagined Nick as a different character: more confident, with more life. He's just a person that even if he knows he's poor, it doesn't bother him to hang around rich people. Don't get me wrong, Tobey does it's job well, he just doesn't excel in doing it. Jordan's character is hollow, but she's not very emphasized in the book either.
What I really liked is, compared to the old movie, which is just the transposition of the book into the screen (just like a theatrical play), this movie manages to express all the emotions and feelings of the characters while preserving most of the dialogs present in the book. This is mostly the merit of Leonardo DiCaprio and Mulligan, of course, but all the other characters contribute to this.
The set is very nicely done with beautiful "special" effects, especially at the beginning of the movie. However, the director took always great care to follow the book. The interior decorations are astonishing, by the way.
The music: Now this, at the beginning of the movie was a bit disturbing, as it's a combination of music from the 20s with modern nuances; but it fits very well, making the story of Daisy and Gatsby timeless.
What I really disliked, and this drifted from the book, is the fact that Nick is telling the story while writing the book. No, this was really unnecessary and the credit always belongs to the author, Fitzgerald. But the way the words appear on the screen... I have to admit that it was very nicely done.
This movie is a must see, I'm sure it will win a lot of Oscars this year. Even if you have already read the book, you won't be disappointed, go and watch it.