The Great Gatsby, the great movie.

Rating: 9/10 (4 June 2013)

What a better way to start my past weekend than going to the movies and finally seeing the movie I was so excited about, The Great Gatsby. This is the third adaptation film based on the great novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald, directed by Baz Lurhmann. I would like to give my opinion about this film, full of romance and drama, that I had been expecting for so long to see.
Taking place in Long Island and the heart of New York City during the 1920s, where a man named Nick Carraway is intrigued by the luxurious life of this new neighbor, Jay Gatsby. He finally gets to meet him, while attending to one of his famous parties he throws very often. Yet, as he gets closer to him he realizes the "gaps" in this perfect luxurious life. A curious outcome happens when he realizes Nick's cousin Daisy, who is married to an old friend of Nick, Tom, actually knew Gatsby.
I believe Lurhmann couldn't have chosen better the actors for this perfectly made film. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jay Gatsby in the movie. Which in my opinion, he is perfect for this roll. His emotions, passions and obsessions throughout the movie are performed in such a way where me, as the audience, believed and felt all of this emotions. The way he acted, indeed made me feel I was in this position. Tobey Maguire, portrays Nick Carrey. I believe he did a great job as well. He portrayed excellently this confused, naive character. He is believable throughout the film, and keeps the audience member confused and pondering as well. Carey Mulligan, or Daisy in the film, is a beautiful actress which acts excellently. I really like the fact that she is not known actress, like Jessica Alba or Keira Knightley, so being in this movie, really show how great of an actress she is, and not people thinking this by being biased by past films. She shows passion, desperation, fear in a great way. Joel Edgerton, acts Tom Buchanan, in an excellent way as well. His vices, his passions and the love he felt for others is clearly seen through his expressions and way of acting. I believe they were all great actors, and I wasn't disappointed at all by Lurhmann's choices.
What I loved the most about the movie itself, is that is has a great plot. I mean, it is not like every other movie where you know how it is going to end. It has this element of surprise, which made me like it even more. The scenery and the music of this movie was also mind shocking. Every single scene had this awesome scenery, which made me just want to be there. The music was also perfect for each scene, and it really did fit in the scene and time period. Like the scene of the party, everything was just BIG. The music, the house, the fireworks, the music every single part of it was amazing. It truly made it seem like the party everyone talked about in New York City. The costumes were also greatly done based on the time period, everything from hair, to every single jewelry was magnificent. I believe a movie is a great piece of art, when you feel like you want to be there, like you really want to belong there. As in Les Miserables, it is full of music, drama and romance which all want to make you join the actors and enjoy the same experience they are having. Both have great costume designs and excellent makeup that really make you feel it was filmed during that specific time and place.
What I learned about this movie, is that you should be happy with who you are and what you have. You should not change who you are and what you have, people should love you for who you are. Not only that, money and material stuff should not be the way to someone's heart. Also, you should value what you have and enjoy it, since you never know when it will be gone. I believe there are many things you can learn from this movie, and probably what most people can grasp from it, is about love and who you are and what you have.
I believe this movie is for a wide audience, specially because it is an adaptation of a classic literature piece. I would recommend it to those who have read the book, and to those who like Lurhmann's movies. This movie is rated PG-13, and I believe that's a good rating for this movie. I believe people will like it as much as I did, it is an excellent movie, I enjoyed every minute of it.
If I were to give this movie a rating on a scale of 1 to 5, I would most definitely give it a 5. The wonders of this movie just "captivated" me. From scenery, to music to the actors, I was shocked after watching this movie, and it most definitely stayed on my mind awhile after I left the cinema.
This movie review was done by a Costa Rican Lincoln School student, currently a sophomore. It was created for the Film appreciation class of 2012-2013. Whose interests vary from watching TV series, to listening to music and hanging out with friends.