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Day One Hundred Thirty-Five:  GATSBY

The Great Gatsby

I will say before I begin that The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is my favourite classic novel and has been for years.  I have been in love with it for a long, long time, and that is the bias that I entered in to this movie with.  Akin to the feelings of Harry Potter my wishesfor this film not to suck was very strong, but as I saw the reviews come in I allowed myself to go in with low expectations.  After leaving the movie I can for sure say it was fabulous.

Nothing short than fabulous.  Tobey Mcguire didn’t even ruin it for me like I thought he would.  Leonardo did Gatsby justice, the acting was one of those things that fit perfectly with Baz’s obvious cartoon-like vision, and it really got to me that the actors knew the irony within what they were saying.  It was so true to what I wanted I just had the biggest grin on my face the entire time.  What is it with Leonardo DiCaprio and always needing to act in water?  “Because he looks good in it,” Zoe answered.  That would be true for every actor in this movie:  The all looked good, period.  Constantly.

The thing that surprised me most was the music.  You know me and my snob music bias, and I was a little bothered by the fact that everything about Gatsby was going to be in-period except for the music.  And then the music started, and I really couldn’t have thought it any better.  I didn’t mind the beats, I didn’t mind the guitars, or the modern music.  Gatsby always said he was a “Modern Man,” and so I trust him, and so did Baz.  The music fit, and I was very happy to hear it.

As for the story, the narrative, and the look of the film as a whole it was great.  I really can only say that it felt suave, it felt like this is how it should be.  It was meant to be outrageous and unrealistic it’s a story about a man with a castle of a house who throws enormous hyperbolic parties to get a girl.  If you are expecting anything casual I suggest not going or waiting for the DVD, but would you expect anything less for the story of the Great Gatsby?

All in all  I loved it.  Obviously it wasn’t all perfect, but I’m not being picky because it was done well.  They made choices and stuck to them, and beyond everything and anything else it told the story nicely..  Like I said:  it fit.  Everything was comfortable with a little bit of out-of-the-box thrown in.  I want to go back and watch it again, but in the meantime I’m buying the soundtrack on itunes immediately.

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