The Great Gatsby (2013) - Film directed by Baz Luhrmann

* * * * 1/2

Amazing film. Beautiful cinematography, careful casting and a wonderfully modern but reminiscent sound track. The film is a sceptical and perfectly represents the grandeur and excess of Gatsby and his lifestyle. A quick disclaimer that I have only read to book once and have not studied it in school, as many people seem to have, so my interpretation is heavily based on the film.

The casting is brilliant because first and foremost everyone can act to a high standard. Secondly they all fit into the 1920s era effortlessly whereas some people who do period films appear too modern in their mannerisms. In particular Gatsby (DiCaprio), Daisy (Mulligan) and Jordan (Debicki) give particularly strong performances.

Throughout the film I was constantly in awe of how it looked. Luhrmann didn't just focus on the party scenes or Gatsby's house but instead made every frame of the film beautiful. The sets were especially breathtaking and almost always filled with flowers, lights or people to enhance their beauty.

I cannot talk about the story because they seem to have stayed relativity faithful to the original book and Toby Maguire for most of the film seems to just be reading from the book in his narration.Obviously there are differences because cinema and literature are genres that have to be handled differently, as are the audiences of the time of the book's publication and the film's release.

The creators of this film brought the best of the 1920s into the 21st century. The beautiful outfits, brilliant cast and amazing music all added to the aesthetics of the film. No detail was overlooked to make this one of the most spectacular films of recent times and demonstrative of a good use of CGI.