5 Reasons The Great Gatsby Rocks
The Great Gatsby hit theaters on May 10th, and it is clearly going to be the movie of the summer. Film and literature lovers alike have gathered to watch the brilliant mesh of Baz Luhrmann and F. Scott Fitzgerald in this box office hit. Here are the top reasons that Gatsby is, in fact, great.
Leo is perfection
Leonardo DiCaprio plays the elusive Jay Gatsby in the film, and his performance is outstanding. Leo captures the mysterious gentleman that Gatsby is seen as by all of New York, while also dipping into his naivety and desperation for Daisy. Audience members are as entranced watching Leo on screen as Nick Carraway is with watching Gatsby at his parties. Besides his acting chops, seeing Leo on screen is a treat in itself. He looks just as great at the Gatsby parties as he did dancing with Kate Winslet in Titanic. Cue the swooning.
Literature buffs can rest easy
If you remember anything from your high school English class, it’s probably the day your teacher drilled into your head how important the colors are in The Great Gatsby in order to understand Fitzgerald’s writing. I’m sure English teachers were biting their nails before the movie’s release, but now they can finally relax. Daisy’s aura of white, the green light, and Gatsby’s yellow car all made it into the film. As book-to-film adaptations always do, some things were left out of the movie, but for the most part the iconic symbols and scenes were all there on the big screen.
Baz should direct all parties
Love him or hate him, Baz Luhrmann knows how to make things sparkle. Not everyone is a fan of his flashy film style, but for Gatsby it definitely works. The party scenes were nothing short of spectacular, and the surrealist elements helped capture how initially daunting Nick finds life with the wealthy of New York to be. Baz’s own flamboyant style was perfect for capturing the roar of the 1920s.
The soundtrack is brilliant
Instead of a soundtrack full of saxaphones and good ol’ jazz, the Gatsby team decided to go modern with their music. The soundtrack was produced by Jay-Z and includes songs by Beyoncé, Florence + The Machine, Lana Del Rey, Fergie, and many other hot artists. The choice to keep the music contemporary strangely added to the film, rather than taking us out of the time period. The exciting beats in today’s music presented the fast pace of 1920s New York, but they weren’t so overwhelming that they distracted from the time period that the story is obviously set in.
It’s the perfect time for Gatsby
The essence of The Great Gatsby is a seamless fit with the mantras of Generation Y life. For Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby, it was stock market booms and profitable business deals that made it seem like the world was at their feet. For the young people of today, the burst of technology seems to be dripping with opportunity. It’s not always easy in either generation to fit into societal expectations, and making bank is always easier said than done, but I couldn’t help but watch the Gatsby party scenes and think of the young spirit of hope I see in so many of my peers. The sense of entitlement that Generation Y has been accused of shows itself as well, which can be seen in the extravagant lives the characters lead without a moment of hesitation. A film that could have easily been simply a period piece spans across time and generations, hitting a nerve with what it means to love and hope as a young person finding your way.
Did you see The Great Gatsby yet? What are your thoughts on the movie?
