Students in English three are reading the book, The Great Gatsby, which was originally published in 1925. The first movie was published in 1974. A few decades later, another adaptation was put out in 2013, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the infamous Jay Gatsby.

Baz Luhrmann, an Australian writer, director, and producer came out with this most awarded film in 2013. Because the movie is based off of the book, it gives readers a visual on what the story is telling.

If you have read the book, it truly brings you some idea about the depth of Gatsby’s character, the depth of his mind, his desires. The false smiles, the fake handshakes, the uneasiness on being in public, and the way Gatsby presents himself to his lover, Daisy Buchanan.

All these things are delivered so well by DiCaprio. His nerve, his frustration, his determination, everything is balanced out well and because of this, gives the movie a more real-life feel to it.  For example, in the book, when Gatsby first visits his mysterious long lost lover, he acts uneasy and fidgety in a way, and this is shown in the book. In the movie, DiCaprio presents this beautifully and there are no doubts this acting position was meant to be.

Below the excellent acting, the costume design was amazing. Catherine Martin has done costume work for every single one of Luhrmann’s films. In fact, the film had received the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. In addition, Martin has also served widely to help the movie achieve the best production design from the BAFTA Awards.

Tobey Maguire plays Nick Carraway and it was just how I imagined Nick to be based off the book, he pulled off this role beautifully. One of the relevant scenes that Nick presents is when he rents out a small house in the West Egg just as it had happened in the book.

Luhrmann depicts F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby powerfully. It breathtakingly captures the essence of the movie famous line, “A new world, material without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitously about.”

Overall it’s more of a, “you love it, or you hate it” type movie based on the intentions of the director. Some people would say it’s not their cup of tea, meaning the acting along with the plot was not clear for them or wasn’t depicted in right way. The movie has a lot of information thrown at you and this is why it’s important to pay attention otherwise you can become confused very easily.

If you’re looking to watch an older version of the movie, Netflix has provided the 1974 original Great Gatsby film free to watch.