Movie Review: The Great Gatsby
“The Great Gatsby,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is a romantic drama based on a 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald of the same name. It tells the story of millionaire and businessman Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio) and his neighbor Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), a graduate of the prestigious Yale University and a World War I veteran. Despite having so much to be proud of, Nick is an alcoholic who is very depressed. When Nick visits his psychiatrist, he often talks about Jay Gatsby and the experiences he and Gatsby shared in the early 1920s, a time known as “The Roaring Twenties.” When Nick talks about Gatsby, he describes him as a very optimistic person. Nick narrates the whole movie, and through his narration, he’s able to capture the essence of Gatsby and the essence of the entire era.
In the early 1920s, Nick moved to New York from the Midwest and rented a small house that was located right next to an extravagant mansion owned by Gatsby. In this mansion, Gatsby lived an extremely lavish lifestyle and regularly hosted parties; however, Gatsby was quite mysterious and not easy to figure out. Nick had a cousin named Daisy (Carrie Mulligan) who lived with her husband Tom (Joel Edgerton) on the east side of town. Nick went to visit his cousin one day, and while there, he met a young golfer named Jordan (Elizabeth Debicki). Jordan revealed to Nick that Daisy’s husband was having an affair, and Nick was able to confirm this was true when she traveled with him to the house where the affair was taking place.
One day, Nick received an invitation to one of Gatsby’s lavish parties. When he arrived, he was stunned to hear the guests talk about Gatsby as if they didn’t know who he was. Nick eventually found out that none of the party guests met Gatsby face to face. Nick and Jordan run into Gatsby and are surprised to find that he is very cold and aloof. After talking with Gatsby, Nick found out that Gatsby knew his cousin Daisy. Gatsby and Daisy not only had a romantic affair, but Gatsby was still very much in love with her. Nick also learned that Gatsby didn’t throw lavish parties because he wanted to socialize with others. His purpose for throwing these parties was to impress Daisy, who he believed was his one true love that had run away.
Gatsby was able to convince Nick to have Daisy meet with him. Nick arranged for Daisy and Gatsby to meet at his modest home, and the two rekindled their relationship. Although Daisy’s husband Tom was still having an affair, he began to question his wife’s relationship with Gatsby. Tom finally realized that Gatsby was, in fact, in love with his wife, and he became very angry. Tom decides to confront Gatsby about the matter and also tells his wife Daisy that Gatsby amassed his fortune by participating in multiple illegal business practices. Daisy decided to support her husband and end her relationship with Gatsby.
It is later discovered that Myrtle (Isla Fisher), the woman who was having an affair with Tom, was struck by a car owned by Gatsby and killed. Gatsby learned that Daisy was driving the vehicle that killed Myrtle and decided to take the blame for the accident. Myrtle’s husband, George (Jason Clarke), found out about the accident and began to think that Myrtle and Gatsby were having an affair. George decided to murder Gatsby, and Gatsby was on the phone with Nick at the time of the murder.
Nick’s depression and alcoholism stem mainly from the fact that he is the only one who knows the truth about what happened. Because everyone in Gatsby’s life believed that he was Myrtles’ lover and murderer, Nick began to feel a great disgust towards them. Nick’s psychiatrist encourages him to write his story, which ultimately ends up being a memoir written by Nick titled “The Great Gatsby.”
“The Great Gatsby” is the second movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio to be released in 2013. The movie was highly anticipated mainly because the movie trailer was released almost a year before the movie hit theaters. Many critics have stated that the film beautifully captures the 1920s era and was visually stunning, making it fun to watch. The film’s soundtrack received rave reviews and features many well-known musical artists, including Jay Z, Beyoncé, Lana Del Ray, and The Bryan Ferry Orchestra.