I finally saw The Great Gatsby after months of waiting. I was trying not to get too excited, because that's always a recipe for disaster, but it had a lot of promise, what with Wes Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio. I wasn't so sure about Tobey McGuire, Carey Mulligan or Jay Z having so much influence on the soundtrack, but that did make me all the more curious.
I came away with the sense that it was a good film. It checked all the boxes, followed the novel word for word sometimes, and never strayed from the plotline.
I appreciated that it could be a good film without all of the complex storylines, character development, and plot twists of modern blockbusters. Sometimes it gets a bit too much.
Yet it was just 'good'.
After reading a couple of reviews which expressed my feelings in words and gave reasons as to why I felt like that, this is my conclusion.
Technically, the film isn't lacking anything. There is abundance. Everything from the set and costumes, to the acting and editing, is painfully obvious.
To me, the book is magical because it is so vague. At the end I was left thinking, "So did he die?" It was all just a little bit cloudy and my imagination was left to fill in the gaps.
The film had no gaps. Every last inch of the screen was constantly filled with letters, lights, flashing jewels, and glossy people. It was all very 'there'.
Although it captures all of the action of the book, it lacks the essence of F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece.
That being said, I'd definitely see it again. Not Wes's best by far, but still a good solid film.
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