Okay, so like a lot of kids who go to small private colleges, I am well aware of the phenomenon that is The Great Gatsby. As an English major, I an also aware of its literary merit whereas I'm quite confident most are more obsessed the the excess party and glamour image portrayed. I'm going to be blatantly honest. I read the book once in high school, circa junior year, and while I liked it, I do not remember it leaving as much an impact on me as I thought it would. I probably need to read it again now (summer reading, perhaps?) now that I have more an appreciation for Fitzgerald's style, but I'll let that be in the future. Currently, I would like to focus on the fact that I definitely went and saw the Baz Luhrmann movie tonight, and I enjoyed every freaking minute of it.
You have to understand Baz's works to appreciate what he did with Gatsby. I personally have a love-hate with Baz. I hated Romeo + Juliet despite loving Leo and Claire. I, however, loved Moulin Rouge and what he did with the epic feel of Australia. If you go into The Great Gatsby without understanding his over the top way of directing a film, I'm warning you, you. will. be. over. whelmed. And, it's totally okay if you hate his work. You're just going to probably hate this too. I loved this adaption (never saw the other one, though I should...). I thought some parts were a bit awkward--Tobey Macguire's lines were occasionally a little off for example. I thought Carey Mulligan was perfect as Daisy, even though I love Carey and I kind of can't stand Daisy despite her ethereal beauty gig. Oh, and Isla Fisher was such a pleasant surprise as Myrtle (which is an awful name, by the way). I wish she had had a little more screen time! However, the main point of this post is not necessarily about going over GG's plot points. It's Baz, and you're going to love it or hate it. The point of this post is to express why with every movie I see with him, I'm thoroughly convinced Leo Dicaprio and I are soul mates.
And I don't mean this romantically, though if that followed as a result, I wouldn't be averse. No, if you've read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, you'll understand my view. Lena thinks her grandfather is her soul mate-- it's obviously not romantic. That's how I view Leo. I think he's just so interesting. Just from the roles he picks alone, he would be such an interesting person to talk with. You could learn so much from his experience, from his choices, from his life. Apparently he has a frat boy side too what with his occasional partying and affinity for thin, blonde models. He's got to be an onion, and it would be the greatest thing ever to be friends with him! I'm thoroughly convinced that if we ever met and became acquaintances we would totally be close once the star-struck thing wore off.
