Film Review: THE GREAT GATSBY (2013)

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Writers: Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce (screenplay), F. Scott Fitzgerald (novel)
Running time: 142 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Drama/Romance
UK Release date: 16^th May 2013

Watched at the cinema on Sunday 2^nd June 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I first have to say I have never read the book and so I can only judge the film as a on its own merits. I have, however seen the 1974 version of this film starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. Fortunately it was a very long time ago and I really can’t remember too much about it other than it didn’t exactly enthral me. I will have been in my early teens when I saw it so that’s not entirely surprising. But I digress; here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

We are told the story is told through the eyes of Gatsby’ neighbour, Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire). He had gone into selling bonds having decided he didn’t really want to be a writer. He was still close to his cousin, Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), who had married old money in the form of Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Now Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) was a very enigmatic character and there were wild rumours about him; none of which were true of course. He threw elaborate parties to which everyone who was anyone (and some who weren’t) turned up. One day, out of the blue, Carraway is sent an invitation to one of these soirées. Of course he goes, but never having met Gatsby before; found it hard to track him down so he could thank him. Eventually Gatsby makes himself known, but there’s an ulterior motive behind the invitation; something from the past and Nick Carraway is the key to unlocking it.

A film with some great set pieces; I found the party scenes particularly spectacular. It’s beautifully shot and I’m quite glad I saw it in 2D as I couldn’t see how 3D would have enhanced it much. I found the music interesting with the big set pieces being handed over to rapper Jay-Z (also an Executive Producer), but it was the original music by Craig Armstrong that I found most enthralling. There are several well known themes subtly placed in the soundtrack and I found both refreshing and interesting. All the performances were great with DiCaprio and Mulligan getting top billing; but I thought Tobey Maguire was equally good. I guess I’ll have to read the book to be able to decide just how good an adaptation this is; but for now I found it quite a satisfying watch with plenty of drama to keep me entertained. If I was to be super critical I would have to say I found the character of Gatsby a little one-dimensional, but having said that it’s still well worth a look if you get the chance.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 7.5/10.

IMDb Score: 7.5/10 (based on 49,082 votes when this review was written).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343092/

MetaScore: 54/100: (Based on 44 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 51/100 (based on 255 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 72/100 (based on 90,311 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_great_gatsby_2012/

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LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Blog: http://gatsbymovie.tumblr.com/
Official Facebook (UK): https://www.facebook.com/TheGreatGatsbyUK
Official Site: http://thegreatgatsby.warnerbros.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: BROTHERS (2009)

Director: Jim Sheridan
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama
UK Release Date: 22^nd January 2010

Watched on Sky+ Tuesday 29^th March 2011

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is another film that got quite a bit of attention from the critics when it first came out. Given the fact that they generally know a bit more about film than I do, I decided to give it a try when it appeared in the TV schedules. Based on a Danish film of the same name that came out in 2004, it is, at times a very gripping and, at the same time, a very touching story of two brothers. I found it pretty good, not least for one stand-out performance, but more of that later. Here’s a brief summary first (summary haters and those that don’t wish to know anything about the plot please help fix the kitchen while I write the next paragraph).

Sam Cahill is a Captain in the Marines; he has a wife, Grace, and two young daughters, Isabelle and Maggie. At the beginning of the film he is about to deploy to Afghanistan. At the same time his brother, Tommy is just getting out of Jail. Their father, Hank, is a Viet Nam vet and makes it clear that he disapproves of the way Tommy has lead his life. Sam goes off to Afghanistan and Grace and the girls go about their normal lives. Tommy turns up every now and then, but Grace doesn’t really like him. Then the news comes that Sam is dead and Grace is devastated. Tommy, feeling guilty spends more and more time with her and the girls and they become quite attached to him. <<SPOILER ALERT>> Little do they know, but Sam is alive and being held captive in the mountains of Afghanistan. Eventually he is rescued, after suffering at the hands of his captors and being forced to do things he would rather forget, Will he be able to live with his wife and family again? Will they be able to live with him having thought him dead? Well, I guess I’d better not tell you or the Spoiler Police will be after me.

This is a really well made film with, surprisingly, a great musical score; it really stunned me how good it was! I’m not sure on the setting, but it looked, and felt, very cold. Performance wise, well, by far the best performance came from Tobey Maguire as Capt. Sam Cahill, he really pulled all the stops out and went way up in my estimation. Both Jake Gyllenhaal as Tommy Cahill and Natalie Portman as Grace Cahill were also very good. It was nice to see Sam Shepard as Hank Cahill and Mare Winningham as Elsie Cahill. Finally, a special mention for Bailee Madison as Isabelle Cahill and Taylor Geare as Maggie Cahill, both young actresses were very good also.

I was quite surprised just how good this film was. I was prepared for a bitter wordy drama all about feelings and bitterness. Yes, those things were there, but not in the way I expected. I found it much more watchable than I thought it would be and that’s credit to the filmmakers and the actors involved. It’s quite a tricky subject to cover and I thought they did a pretty good job… Recommended.

My Score: 7.5/10

LINKS:
(RT=Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0765010/
RT Page: TBA – the site is currently suffering difficulties (FOR A CHANGE!)
Official Site: http://www.brothersfilm.com/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi596444185/