The Great Gatsby (2013 film)

The Great Gatsby
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Baz Luhrmann
Produced by	Baz Luhrmann Douglas Wick Lucy Fisher Catherine Martin Catherine Knapman
Screenplay by	Baz Luhrmann Craig Pearce
Based on	The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Starring	Leonardo DiCaprio Tobey Maguire Carey Mulligan Joel Edgerton Isla Fisher Jason Clarke Amitabh Bachchan
Music by	Craig Armstrong
Cinematography	Simon Duggan
Editing by	Matt Villa Jason Ballantine Jonathan Redmond
Studio	Village Roadshow Pictures Bazmark Productions A&E Television Red Wagon Entertainment
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	May 10, 2013
Running time	142 minutes[1]
Country	United States Australia
Language	English
Budget	$105 million[2]
Box office	$348.8 million[2]

The Great Gatsby is a 2013 Australian-American^[3] 3D drama film. An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel of the same name, the film was co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Amitabh Bachchan and Elizabeth Debicki.^[4] It follows the life and times of millionaire Jay Gatsby and his neighbor Nick, who recounts his encounter with Gatsby at the height of the Roaring Twenties. The film was originally going to be released on December 25, 2012, but moved to May 10, 2013 in 3D. It received mixed reviews from critics, but proved a financial success. The government of Australia contributed financially to the making of the film with tax subsidies.^[5]

Plot

Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), a Yale University graduate and World War I veteran, is staying in a sanatorium to treat his alcoholism. He talks about a man named Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), describing him as the most hopeful man he had ever met. When he struggles to articulate his thoughts, his doctor, Walter Perkins (Jack Thompson), suggests writing it down, since writing is Nick's true passion.
In the summer of 1922, Nick moves from the U.S. Midwest to New York, where he takes a job as a bond salesman after giving up on writing. He rents a small house on Long Island in the (fictional) village of West Egg, next door to the lavish mansion of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious business magnate who holds extravagant parties. One day, Nick drives across the bay to East Egg for dinner at the home of his cousin, Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), and her husband, Tom (Joel Edgerton), a college acquaintance of Nick's. They introduce Nick to Jordan Baker (Elizabeth Debicki), a cynical young golfer with whom Daisy wishes to couple Nick.
Jordan reveals to Nick that Tom has a mistress who lives in the "valley of ashes," an industrial dumping ground between West Egg and New York City. Not long after this revelation, Nick travels with Tom to the valley, where they stop by a garage owned by George Wilson Jason Clarke and his wife, Myrtle (Isla Fisher), who is Tom's lover that Jordan mentioned. Nick goes with Tom and Myrtle to an apartment that they keep for their affair, where Myrtle throws a vulgar and bizarre party with her sister Catherine (Adelaide Clemens), that ends with Tom breaking Myrtle's nose as she taunts him about Daisy.
As the summer progresses, Nick receives an invitation to one of Gatsby's parties. Upon arriving, he learns that none of the guests at the party, though there are hundreds, have ever met Gatsby himself, and they have developed multiple theories as to who he is: A German spy, a prince, even an assassin. Nick encounters Jordan, and they meet Gatsby, who is surprisingly young and rather aloof, in person. Towards the end of the party, Gatsby's butler informs Jordan that Gatsby wishes to speak with her privately.
Gatsby seems to take a liking to Nick, inviting him out for numerous occasions. Their friendship furthers when Gatsby takes Nick out to lunch with his friend Meyer Wolfshiem (Amitabh Bachchan), a gambler who fixed the 1919 World Series, where Nick learns that Gatsby was born to very wealthy people that have already passed away. During the lunch, they run into Tom, Gatsby appearing uncomfortable throughout the exchange. Through Jordan, Nick later learns that Gatsby had a relationship with Daisy in 1917, and is still madly in love with her, throwing his extravagant and wild parties in the hopes that she will one day appear at his doorstep. On most nights, he can be seen reaching out across the bay to the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. He now wants Nick to arrange a reunion between him and Daisy. Nick invites Daisy to have tea at his house, without telling her that Gatsby will be there as well.
After a rather awkward reunion, Gatsby and Daisy begin an affair. Gatsby is rather dismayed to learn that Daisy wants to run away from New York with him, his initial plan being for them to live in his mansion. Nick tries to explain to Gatsby that the past cannot be repeated, but he dismisses the remark, claiming that it most certainly can be. Trying to keep the affair a secret, he fires a majority of his servants and discontinues the parties. Eventually, he phones Nick and asks that he and Jordan accompany him to the Buchanans', where they plan to tell Tom that Daisy is leaving him. Nick is hesitant at first, but Gatsby insists that they need him.
During the luncheon, Tom becomes increasingly suspicious of Gatsby when he sees him staring at Daisy with such passion. Gatsby begins to announce their love when Daisy stops him, and suggests they all go into town. Everyone leaves for the Plaza, Tom driving Gatsby's car with Nick and Jordan while Gatsby and Daisy take Tom's car. Out of gas, Tom stops at George and Myrtle's garage, where George tells him he plans to move him and wife out west, much to Tom's concern.
At the Plaza, Gatsby finally tells Tom that he and Daisy are together, claiming that she never loved him. Outraged, Tom begins to accuse Gatsby of bootlegging alcohol and conducting other illegal endeavors with Meyer Wolfshiem, explaining how Gatsby earned so much money. Pushed to his breaking point, Gatsby screams in rage at Tom, frightening Daisy. She asks to leave and goes with Gatsby, this time in his car. Nick realizes that it is his thirtieth birthday.
Later that night, Myrtle manages to flee from her husband, rushing out onto the street. She sees Gatsby's yellow car approaching and runs toward it, believing the driver to be Tom after seeing him in the same car earlier. She is struck and killed. Afterwards, Tom, Nick, and Jordan stop by the garage when they see a large crowd has gathered. There, they learn of Myrtle's death. Tom tells George, her widowed husband, that the yellow car belongs to Gatsby.
When they get back to East Egg, Nick finds Gatsby lingering outside the Buchanans' mansion, where Gatsby reveals by accident that Daisy had been the one who was driving, though he intends to take the blame. In spite of everything, Gatsby is convinced that Daisy will call him the next day. At Gatsby's mansion, he also tells Nick that he was born penniless, and his real name is James Gatz. In the morning, Nick leaves for work while Gatsby decides to go for a swim before his pool is drained for the season. While swimming, he hears the phone ring, and believes it to be Daisy. He climbs out of the pool while his butler answers the call, looking out across the bay at Daisy's house with anticipation. He is abruptly shot and killed by George, who then turns the gun on himself. It is revealed that it is Nick on the phone, who stays on the line long enough to hear the two gunshots.
When Nick calls the Buchanans to invite Daisy to Gatsby's funeral, he learns that she, Tom, and their daughter are leaving New York. The funeral is attended only by reporters and photographers, who Nick angrily chases out. The media accuses Gatsby of being the lover and eventual murderer of Myrtle, leaving Nick as the only one who knows the truth. Disgusted with both the city and its people, he leaves New York. He takes a final walk through Gatsby's deserted mansion, standing out on the dock for the last time. Back in the sanatorium, he finishes his memoir and titles it "Gatsby", but not long before adding to it with pen, ultimately titling it "The Great Gatsby".