The Great Gatsby

Any fan or Fitzgerald, enthusiast of the roaring 20s, or high school student taking junior year English has read The Great Gatsby. Those of us lucky enough to be introduced to it in a school setting have probably spent a few humid class days slumped over our desk watching the terrible film translation done in 1974. There isn’t much to be said about the poor casting, lackluster acting and generally unfortunate production, except that it captures none of what Fitzgerald hoped to bring to us through his masterpiece.  The disappointment with the first movie definitely has a role to play in all the anticipation surrounding the version that is to be released in just a few weeks. With such names as Leonardo DiCaprio, Isla Fisher and Tobey Maguire the bar is set high. The first trailer gave us a taste of decadence Fitzgerald himself would likely approve of, however the modern take opens it up to an audience of its own. The use of a sample from No Church in the Wild, especially when it was at its peak of popularity, multiplied the anticipation and exemplified exactly what the book made us feel. Subsequent trailers featured Amy Winehouse covered by Beyonce, a combination as dreamlike as the scene where Gatsby is throwing his fine clothing over the banister down to Daisy. The soundtrack for the movie features the likes of Andre 3000 to Lana Del Ray showing just how diverse the fan base is expected to be. Each new poster set is more stunning than the last, featuring gold, silver, black as the main backdrops. The same electricity oozes from the posters and trailers that we felt as the story was unfolded at our fingertips. The Great Gatsby (2013) is sure to be the blockbuster of the year. We can only hope our anticipation and excitement does not result in the same disappointment Gatsby faces at his end.

Great Gatsby IMDB