The Great Gatsby

I know that F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a novel most people think of as a book that people read when they are in school.  I honestly don't remember if my introduction to the book was by being forced upon me in High School, or if I found it on my own, but it has always remained one of my favorite "great novels."

One of the reasons I have always loved this book is the imagery that Fitzgerald is able to show through his words.  This is a talent I'll never have, and usually a trait I dislike in writers (here's looking at you Tolkien and Steinbeck), but Fitzgerald is able to write description that not only shows what is actually there, but also how the character is seeing it.  The description that Nick has of what he sees seems unbelievable and not possible, and I always felt that to some extent it was probably exaggeration, but not in Nick's mind.  He sees the parties and the scenery exactly as it is described.

The movie does a great job of capturing what Nick saw.  Many of the scenes early on in the film make it easy to identify that the film shares a director with Moulin Rouge, however while this could be distracting in other films, it perfectly captures Nick's perception of the events going on around him in a way that would be difficult to do in film.

My one complaint about the film is that it hits the viewer over the head with the idea of hope and disillusionment.  Yes, these are important themes from the book, but the film does an adequate enough job of getting this across without having to constantly verbally remind the audience about it, that it is unnecessary and distracting.  The contrast to the imagery from early in the movie to later in the novel is obvious, and would show the change in attitude and perception of life from Nick's perspective on its own.

I would very much recommend the movie to both groups of people, those who love Fitzgerald's books and those who were forced to read it in school and found it boring.  Leonardo DiCaprio pulls off the character of Gatsby well, and aside from a couple of moments where he was on a boat and I had to laugh at the similarities to his character of Jack from Titanic, he outshines all of the other acting in the movie, with honorable mention to Joel Edgerton as Tom.  If you have already watched Iron Man 3, and you are looking for another movie to go see, this would be a good pick.