Gatsby, the American Story

F. Scott Fitzgerald's Classic American novel just drives people nuts. Since it was written in the early 20th century, its story line has been used as the basis on many movie and tv shows.  Therefore, whenever a movie is made based on the novel, it is panned.  Its like someone on American Idol trying to sing a Whitney Houston song. No matter how good the performance, it is deemed not good enough.

I went to see the latest Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Mcguire.  I am a DiCaprio fan and went even though the reviews were bad.  The reviewers always want something new and this is not new.  However the director, Baz Lurmann, used the latest CGI to create a larger than life world of the story of a person who  today would be a multi billionaire.

If you don't know the story it is the story of a man who amasses a giant fortune for the sole purpose of winning the hand of a girl he met 5 years ago that chose to marry another over waiting on him to make it.  

It is about lust, worldly living, and everything that's wrong with the world (just like 2013), seen through the eyes of a young man who lives in a caretaker's cottage next door to Gatsby.

I had seen the Robert Redford version of this movie, and remembered that it was a slow, and dreadful movie.  I did NOT see the Alan Ladd version.

As I watched it, I remembered the Parable of the man who finds and pearl of great worth and sold all he had to possess it.  This story is a man who finds someone he wants to passes and amasses all he can to try to gain her.

I give it *** stars.  2013 Movie # 17