Other Book to Film Adaptations Featuring the Cast of “The Great Gatsby”
No matter if it turns out to be a hit, is bombed by critics and audiences, or falls somewhere in between, one thing is for sure, The Great Gatsby, the reimagining of the great F. Scott Fitzgerld American classic novel by the king of glitzy stylized film aesthetic Baz Luhrmann, is one of the most anticipated movies this year. Anyone who has read the novel can contend that it is a story that smartly delves into the complexities of love, obsession, betrayal, financial status, and social appearances. While we wait for the wide film release, here are some of the best novel to film adaptations starring the cast of The Great Gatsby:
Leo DiCaprio (Jay Gatsby)
Revolutionary Road (2008)
It was the movie that reconnected Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet after the massive cinematic hit Titanic. Based on the 1961 novel of the same name written by Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road depicts a married couple, the Wheelers, clinging to what is expected of them regarding ideals of family and career in the American society of the 1950s. We watch as their marriage slowly comes apart at the seams as they come to realize their hopes and dreams of an exciting life which once fueled their love are slowly becoming lost to them. Becoming the embodiment of a man unhappy in his marriage and career, restless with his own dissatisfaction, DiCaprio gives us his interpretation of the character of Frank Wheeler. And as Frank becomes defined by his many affairs and big talk of changing for the better, Leo DiCaprio showed us he can bring a sort of dignity to an otherwise undignified man. Though most of the accolades for performances that year went to Winslet (as wife April Wheeler) and Michael Shannon (as their mentally-disturbed yet surprisingly astute son of their neighbor John Givings), Leo DiCaprio did earn a Golden Globe nomination for his efforts.
*See also Leo DiCaprio’s take on another literary character, U.S. Marshall Daniels, in the great psychological thriller Shutter Island (2010) directed by Martin Scorsese.
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So, I started my first little 
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Do See: The Amazing Spiderman (Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone) This short review has a caveat. Do see this film… if you haven’t seen or didn’t like the last franchise with Tobey Maguire (to which I ask, what is wrong with you?!?!?). Otherwise, you don’t really need to bother with it so much. I know alot of folks about there feel the same way that I do, that this movie came too soon after the last franchise. I think I went in to this alittle biased; I loved the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire versions (sans the third movie which was God awful. The second one made up for it though which I consider one of the best contemporary superhero movies), and I thought this one was alittle unnecessary. Is it a prequel? A remake? That feeling stayed with me the whole time I watched. Don’t get me wrong - I adore Garfield and Stone, two of the best young actresses we have right now (see: Boy A and The Social Network for proof for Garfield’s talent, Easy A and The Help for Stone’s) and they did some pretty great work here (though was all that great acting wasted for this movie? I wonder…) For me the chemistry between Peter Parker/Gwen Stacy was some of the best I’ve seen between love interests in superhero movies. It bordered on sexy. I loved it. Stone and Garfield both brought their characteristic lovableness that I enjoyed in all of the small moments they had on screen together. Other than that I didn’t love or was excited about this version of Spiderman. Peter Parker at many times came off too arrogant which didn’t for me meld with him being a nerdy outsider. The quest of discovering his destiny and his living up to his responsibilities, though core to the Spiderman story, was nothing really innovation from what we had already seen in the Sam Raimi version. The villian, The Lizard, wasn’t villian-y (is that a word?) enough for me. There was no real bravado or sense that he matched the wits and abilities of Spiderman. The action sequences? Yawn. Some some moments got me to sit up alittle straighter in my seat but that’s it. All in all, I’m not seeing the improvement on the last franchise that explains the quick reboot. What I will say about it is that I laughed so much at Stan Lee’s cameo in this one; it was so cute and funny. I love Marc Webb; he has given me one of my favorite movies (500 Days of Summer) and maybe because of his experience with that, the relationships between the lead characters were so good. I think they it suffered from not being original enough when it set out to be original. It would have been better off if it was a straight up prequel and ended where the 2002’s Spiderman began. What I want to know now is, what is going to happen to the only great thing about the movie (Garfield + Stone) when they kill off Gwen Stacy (if they follow the comics)?
