Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a wonderful film starring the great Leonardo DiCaprio.

In the movie, Nick Carraway is a Wall Street businessman who is also a next door neighbor to Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio): He lives in the West Egg district of Long Island.

Rumors swirl about Jay's exorbitant wealth and what he did to get it: Where exactly did his fortune originate?

No one knows.

Many people arrive at his home, uninvited, to attend lavish parties, but Nick is the only one who receives an invitation.

When he sets foot in the home, he is immediately blown away: There are beautiful women and nearly every display of wealth one could imagine, but Gatsby himself is difficult to find.

It appears that no one has set eyes on the man himself.

When he finally does show himself, Nick is charmed.

The two become fast friends and Nick Carraway witnesses the humanity of this extremely rich man, living in an enormous house, searching for nothing but a female companion.

Daisy is the love of Jay Gatsby's life, but their dynamic is complicated: She is married to another man, but she has always been a bit more than fond of him, missing him and dreaming of him for five long years.

Nonetheless, the fact remains: She has a diamond ring on her finger, so she has made a commitment. Despite that, she must decide between two men she loves.

The ending is tragic, somewhat romantic, and devastating all at once.

If you haven't seen this film, I highly recommend it.

Setting

The setting was well-described: New York City, Long Island, an enormous home, and incredible wealth were all portrayed in great detail.

The cars, clothes, and the like appeared to match the time period as well: the 1920s.

Characters

I found that Gatsby was by far the most complicated, three-dimensional character. Daisy had a choice to make, and was quite attractive to men: She was blonde and beautiful, loving wealth and men who had it. That is why she was married to Tom and then considered Gatsby, but only when he had money.

I found that the women were perhaps overly stereotypical: the smart brunette, the bubbly, beautiful blonde, and the wild redhead were all characters.

Nonetheless, they were at least completely and unapologetically themselves, each created to serve a purpose in the story.

Daisy was the most integral to the story because she held such a significant place in Gatsby's heart, but her morals were loose, to say the least.

Nick Carraway was the other integral character because he was the wordsmith of Gatsby's story, telling the tale of a very mysterious man through the written word, and elevating his character in the process.

Dialogue

I very much enjoyed the dialogue. It was quite realistic and each character spoke in a way that suited them.

All of the conversations that were had were extremely convincing.

Storyline

The storyline was absolutely incredible: It delved into Gatsby's character and the complicated life of a rich person who mysteriously came into a great deal of wealth.

There is mystery because you wonder how exactly a person could be that wealthy if he hadn't inherited an enormous fortune, which Jay Gatsby had not.

There is also romance due to Gatsby's enormous heart full of love for Daisy.

There are thought-provoking scenes when it comes to the moral limits a person has, and society in general has, from the point of view of a Wall Street man who dreamt of becoming a writer and had, for a moment or two, done away with that dream, until he returned to it.

I would give The Great Gatsby 4.5/5 stars, only because the female characters were quite stereotypical.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Overall, this is a fantastic film.