Reviews by Gene ciesla: The Great gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s amazing novel has been revamped once again in Baz Lurman’s interpretation of The Great Gatsby. The story is of an aspiring writer, Nick Carraway (played by Toby Maguire) and his relations with old friends and new ones. During his experiences, he meets his neighbor, Jay Gatsby, who throws extravagant parties but is shadowed with mysteries. This story of love, tragedy, and the American dream nearly follows the novel and seems less distant from our time so to be more relatable. As readers, we want every minor piece of the story to be displayed in length. As movie watchers, we don’t need all of that and it is hard to look for each little detail. This movie, though, does do a respectable job of portraying Fitzgerald’s ideas. The difference is that in this version, the whole realm seemed to be more modern. Jay-Z’s rousing music can be heard in the soundtrack of Gatsby’s wild parties. These parties are so over the top with crazy bands and dancing girls that it makes them seem up to date with the times. Another one of these features is Gatsby’s driving and the camera angles used to capture it. His recklessness and speed make one think of the present and all the speeding cars we have now. Now crazy driving is pretty bad but what’s worse is when a movie writes a line that is not consistent with the book and you only know because you read the book. We readers know that Dan Cody’s boat was not caught in a storm and saved by a young Gatsby. Nevertheless it was a well-directed scene and worked well for the general effect. The other problem of mine was the non-inclusion of Mr.Gatz. There was not a word about the man showing up at the funeral like he did in the
