Great Gatsby is Great

The latest movie adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is, for lack of a better word great. The movie did a fantastic job of capturing the book in story and setting, although the Jay-Z soundtrack for a movie set in 1922 was a little strange, it reminded me of “Idlewild,” but I have to say that it was strange in a good way.The movie, like the book, is about a young man, Jay Gatsby who has become fabulously wealthy and throws even more fabulous parties, all in order to recapture the love is life, Daisy Buchanan who just so happens to be the cousin of his next door neighbor, married, and living just across the bay.

Now with movies like this one, it’s hard not to give out spoilers, seeing as how anybody who has read the book probably has a good idea of how the movie ends. That being said, I must say that the movie stayed true to the book, so much so that I realized that I had actually read the book about halfway through the movie.

Of course I hadn’t read it since high school, and seeing as how I did not remember that, I read the synopsis on wikipedia; however I as the movie played remembered things that were not in the summary.

I must say that I was captivated by Tobey McGuire’s capturing of Nick Carraway’s character. Carraway is the narrator of the story, and also the aforementioned cousin of the love interest, Daisy. One truly believes he is a fresh faced new comer to New York City, truly captivated by his neighbor, Gatsby.

The story, being set during prohibition times, revels in the alcohol fueled frenzies of the times, with Tom Buchanan, husband to Daisy playing the constant hypocrite. He constantly infers that Gatsby is lowly “bootlegger” yet drinks all the time.

The story is full of alcohol, sex (no nudity), and parties. There is even a scene with a group of brothers in a drop top riding down street with bottles of Moet, all while Jay-Z’s music is playing, again a little strange but it did seem to fit the mood.

Overall I highly suggest this movie for those into the story or just looking for a good date movie. It’s sad, but then the story is a sad story; however it’s a great adaptation of The Great Gatsby.