Movie Thoughts: The Great Gatsby
By Cathy H - 8:44 AM
I just finished watching this movie properly for the first time, after putting it off for an long time. First of all, I have to say the cinematography is amazing. Every scene was so vivid and dreamlike, capturing another day and age ever so elegantly. Second, the storyline really drew me in. I love movies with a good voiceover and good depth. These are my reflections on this movie:
1. Looking into the future is an ever so dangerous thing: I felt sorry for Gatsby throughout the whole movie, because his intentions were so pure and self-driven in achieving his goals. However, the amount of work he put in to get to that "moment" actually left him with more troubles than he started out with. He envisioned Daisy to fall back in love with him, being delusional that she would leave her husband and love him as she had 5 years ago. Expecting others to give you self-satisfaction is never a safe bet. Even though he made himself so wealthy, he still didn't end up gaining the respect that he wanted in the end. The people with "old money" looked down on him, and on his funeral- no one even showed up despite offering up his house for entertainment on so many extravagant occasions. This reminded me that no matter how brilliant the future looks, there are still so many unforeseen consequences yet to be encountered. Therefore, staying in the present moment is ever so important.
2. "Loving someone too much, and in the process forgetting you are special too": Gatsby reminded me so much of myself in this film. Holding on to someone everytime I grew attached to them, giving all this effort out, planning and hoping everything would work out, getting excited over just a little detail or something they said. Knowing it wouldn't work out but being delusional. Sometimes you hold onto the "idea" of someone and how great having your love reciprocated back could be, that you forget you are an equally important person too that deserves every bit of someone's love. Not just a little bit, and not something you're imagining. I think all of Gatsby's hopes were all in his head and thus not being realistic about the situation. Therefore, he went through all these extravagant parties just hoping she would "walk in someday"when she didn't even bother showing up at his funeral. It's crazy what love can do even though it's never reciprocated back. I think giving too much of yourself away is actually detrimental because you won't have dignity or self-respect anymore.
Overall, this movie's message and morals is quite deep. I think I'll start reading the book. It is quite a tragedy but can be applied in the present context and life happenings everyday. I felt like I related to Gatsby so much about his love struggles. I'd definitely give this movie a 10/10!
0 comments