Disappointment

Rating: 4/10 (26 May 2013)

(Not sure if spoiler, don't think so, but do not want to get banned) First of all, although I love DiCaprio, he was not the best to play Gastby. He didn't capture what Gastby was really all about. DiCaprio sensationalized Gatsby more than necessary and it took away from the movie as a whole. Tobey Maguire was a perfect Nick. I must give Luhrmann that. Maguire captured all the right facial expressions, all the uncertainty and hesitance that Nick has. Mulligan was an okay choice. She grasped the fake innocence well-enough, but something was still not right about her. Debicki was an awful choice for Jordan. Jordan is a very important character in the book, she symbolizes how the old eggers also cheat and Luhrmann didn't even go over that. She was just there and Debicki didn't do very well playing a stuck-up woman. The biggest problem I have with this movie is it seemed too fake. It's hard to explain. But, when watching a movie, you should be able to delve into it, but, there are points in the movie when even the back drop was fake and it took away from the story. Also, we are suppose to feel sorry for Gatsby at the end, not Daisy. Daisy is the bad guy and Luhrmann didn't get that. At the end, he rushed through the main theme of carelessness and greed of the Buchanans that have. Instead, he makes Gatsby seem like the bad person. Luhrmann gets the idea of God watching and the Green Light very well. Wait, no, there was no mystery to what it meant. He told you. Everything was put out there, nothing to make you think. But, another thing Luhrmann failed to show was the importance of the owl-eye man. The owl- eye man has a very important role because he is the only one who sees through Gatsby's parties. But, yet he is the only one who shows up in the end. Luhrmann missed his importance. Lastly, the costumes, the scene was great. It looked just as we imagine the roaring 20s. We see the alcohol, the speakeasies, the flappers, everything we imagine 20s are, we get. Except, for the music. The music is contemporary jazz, not 20s jazz. Not the same. So, do not watch this movie for a book report.