Genre: Romance
Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio, Tobey Macguire
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Year: 2013
Runtime: 143 mins
Basically: After so much hype, I expected better
My husband and I get regular films from Lovefilm. So every Thursday, if we have received a film to watch, I will review it honestly. Please bear in mind that this is just my personal opinion.
The Good:
Visually bright and beautiful, the past is brought to life in a stunning vision of the American party scene. Ostentation and precision blended harmoniously in this era, but it is a strange setting for a love story. There was a decent plot, although not one which appealed to my personal taste. There were some very good descriptive phrases and the writing of this film has obviously been well thought through. The only curiosity I felt throughout the film centred on the character of Gatsby, since allusions were made that he was not everything he seemed. However, I think this seed could have been planted a little more subtly so that the eventual exposure of the truth felt more surprising and exciting.
The Bad:
I didn’t personally enjoy this film and would rate it as watchable. The storyline doesn’t immediately grab. It leads with the idea of someone reminiscing somewhat bitterly about the past, letting the audience know straight away that there is no happy ending. With this in mind, the love story between a bachelor and married woman seems doomed to fail and the audience, knowing this, don’t get behind the love story as they might have otherwise. The characters seemed over-flawed, each one of them being self-obsessed and unable to see the bigger picture. This made it difficult to relate to the characters, despite the acting being very good.
Overall Rating: 6/10
Plot, Storyline: 6/10
Graphics, Visuals: 10/10
Acting, Characters: 8/10
L.A. Miles
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