Film Review: ‘The Great Gatsby’

A couple of weeks ago I went with a friend to a screening of the recent Great Gatsby film, and I was so excited, because I have wanted to watch this film for ages, having read the book for school a couple of years ago. So today, I thought I would write a review of the recent film version of ‘The Great Gatsby’.

On the whole I have mixed feelings about this film. One of the main things I liked about this film was the choice of actors. All of the actors fit their characters perfectly, and there wasn’t a character that I felt was wrongly portrayed. Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby worked perfectly, and the actor who played Tom just fit the image in my mind so well. I really like it when films fit with what you expect, and the characters come to life in a way that you knew they would, and this was the case with this film.

I also really liked the glamour and glitz of the parties that was shown on the screen, and I felt like the real corruption of the society was exaggerated in the film. The crazy antics of the rich were also exaggerated on screen, and I felt like the film really projected the image of what the parties of the 1920s were like to the audience, as opposed to the book, where the reader just imagines the parties.

However, one thing I wasn’t as keen on in this film was the very odd, surreal feel of it. The whole way through, it all felt a bit odd and disjointed, and even if this surreal atmosphere was to exaggerate the crazy activities the rich got up to- it still made the whole film feel a bit odd.

I also didn’t like the way that minor details were changed for no apparent reason, and if you were studying this novel in school, watching the film would not help! For example, Daisy is Nick’s cousin in the film, but in the book Nick is simply friends with Tom.

This could have been done to make Nick seem a better character- as who in their right mind would be friends with Tom- but for me it seemed irrelevant. Also, I do not like the character of Nick in the book, and so I didn’t like the way the film tried to portray him as nicer than he is in the novel.

Overall, I liked the mixture of a frivolous atmosphere of parties and fun, and the deeper themes of deception, betrayal, and lost love depicted in this film. However, the surreal vibe of the film was strange, and I didn’t like the modern feel of the soundtrack or film as a whole.

If you enjoyed ‘The Great Gatsby’ film or book, check out my review of ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s‘ by Truman Capote.

What do you think of my review of ‘The Great Gatsby’? What do you think of the film? Are you going to give ‘The Great Gatsby’ a go?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

Happy reading x

Picture credits here