“THE GREAT GATSBY” Movie Preview. All that Glitters is not Gold in this Sorry Tale of a Doomed Romance.

“THE GREAT GATSBY”  PRESS PREVIEW

” THE GREAT GATSBY” a critic’s pick?

Surely.

The film is based on the memorable SCOTT FITZGERALD classic novel. It faithfully charts the raw, desolate energy of the 1920′s age of great jazz and greater debauchery.

Compelling, powerful and intriguing, it unashamedly slams the excesses of the nouveau rich who flaunt their material wealth in style.

NO, MONEY CANNOT BUY HAPPINESS.

We are transported to wild parties galore where the non-stop popping of the bottle matches the continuous overflowing of champagne in a playboy’s paradise that extols beyond bewitching fashion and music.

The film director BAZ LUHMANN pulls no punches as he laces the film with lush, garish decor. He strips away the the thin veil which masks the super rich as a lonesome, isolated group leading wasted lives for want of true love and emotional acceptance.

We are constantly reminded that the film director is a master craftsman who will spare no pains in crafting an epic, utilizing every razzle dazzle gimmick on book, including the 3D.

He competently casts LEONARDO DiCAPRIO as Gatsby, TOBEY MAGUIRE as Nick Carraway the narrator of the story and the beguiling CAREY MULLIGAN as the narcissistic Daisy decked in glittering sequined gowns and jewels and her philandering husband Tom (JOEL EDGERTON). These are great actors.

“THE GREAT GATSBY” successfully spins a visual extravaganza with a forlorn tale of a doomed romance in the tradition of his  previous ROMEO AND JULIET.

The film opens with Nick, convalescing at a sanatorium in winter time, a few years after the events.

He is struggling to come to terms with his friendship with Gatsby and is urged by his psychiatrist to write down his memoirs.

Gatsby is portrayed as an elusive billionaire of mystery, shrouded in rumor, but one thing is evident: his heart belongs to Daisy, and she is one thing money can never buy.

“THE GREAT GATSBY” is a brilliant charmer, smart, sexy, swooningly romantic.

It is beautifully shot and powerfully acted.

Embodiment of the American dream or not, it is about a doomed romance amid an age of golden jazz and repulsive decadence.

For those who love beauty and the arts, don’t miss this one.

Right.