Movie #761 .........................."The Great Gatsby"

Movie #761 "The Great Gatsby" was eye candy to the eye. As I watched it (in 3D, no less), it fleetingly moved from one image to another, while the camera kept busy throughout. Sometimes I got motion sickens from the movement (zooms, etc.)but the film really made you feel like you were Nick Carraway on this big ride through Gatsby's mansion and parties, the roaring 20s and life itself. I thought the film was well cast with Di Caprio as JG --- he can do it all and does it all to get across the very complex tragic hero. I didn't think I'd like Carey as Daisy, but she added layers to the character , and can do so much with just a look or sideways glance. What I liked most of all was the way the film told the story. The whole frame is that Nick is now in an insane asylum troubled by the story he has to tell ---- and tell he does, while writing it all down committing it to memory. The words he types float on the page, and linger sometimes so that we can study the individually beautiful spoken moments that have made this book the true classic it is. The action, the time period all come across beautifully with very few changes to the novel --- and the ones here, I think are well done. This is one individual's interpretation of the book and I found it to be very helpful ---- for example, why is it titled "The Great" Gatsby? Well, Baz Luhrmann gives his idea on the matter. I recommend it, but it isn't for everyone ---- the camera moves a bit much, and everything else is pretty much in-your-face, but if you like a Citizen Kane type of film, here's another one you might enjoy. It takes chances, and I liked that about it. I was surprised more critics didn't recommend it, but then that's the way they treat film that takes chances sometimes. I heard one on the t.v. yesterday, not only complain about this rendition of the novel, but also slammed "Moulin Rouge," which I thought was also beautifully done. So, I guess it's just a matter of opinion, and my opinion is that this does service to the book, and one that Fitzgerald would also prize, I think. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as literary icon Jay Gatsby in this adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel. Fascinated by the mysterious, affluent Gatsby, his neighbor Nick Carraway bears witness to the man's obsessive love and spiral into tragedy. Cast:Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Adelaide Clemens, Callan McAuliffe, Amitabh Bachchan, Elizabeth Debicki Genre:Romantic Dramas, 20th Century Period Pieces, Dramas Based on Classic Literature, Drama