The Great Gatsby

Based on the book by the same name, a young man named Nick Carraway's life is changed forever when he takes a job as a bond salesman and rents a house next to a large mansion owned by the mysterious reclusive man named Jay Gatsby. As Carraway gets to know his dashing, mysterious neighbor he finds out that Gatsby knew his cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom, and that Gatsby and Daisy had been romantically involved several years prior. When Gatsby realizes that Nick is Daisy's cousin he tries to get Nick to secretly invite both him and Daisy to have tea at his house. Nick reluctantly agrees, and in doing so he sets off a series of events that will challenge the bond between both friends and family.

I'll be honest, I have never read the book, so I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. I kind of had an idea on what to expect from listening to other people who had read the story talk about it. I was hoping that watching the movie would spark an interest in finally picking up the book and reading it for myself. Unfortunately, I ended up being extremely bored and almost walked out of the theater when I saw it. To be fair, it is visually stunning, filled with vibrant sets and dazzling imagery; the story however, is slow and plods along for longer than I felt it needed to be. I did enjoy the performances, particularly from Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. I also liked the messages of how money is a fleeting thing and only lasts for a little while but love lasts forever. Besides the story, my only other complaint was the ending. I felt the ending was a little to, for lack of a better description, happy for me. From what I've heard of the story, it's a depressing cautionary tale about how one can try to fill their life with money and possessions but in the end will feel empty inside, and I didn't feel the movie portrayed that as well as it could have. So far I have heard nothing but great reviews, so maybe I need to read the book and then sit down and watch the movie again. For now though, I have to say I was disappointed in the result.