I thought the film was made very well. The best thing about it was the setting. In particular the Valley of Ashes was very realistically portrayed. Gatsby's mansion was represented well. It looked like I had expected it to but Nick's house wasn't such an eyesore as it was supposed to be in the book. I thought that Daisy's house was big and it looked like a house fit for royalty. There was a giant garden and there were a lot of white colours used in the interior decoration. This gave a feeling of serenity which in fact was a false impression of the reality.
Robert Redford played the part of Gatsby very well I thought. He was the best performer in my opinion . He gave me a feeling of Gatsby. He was appealing to look at and also had an innocence which came through in his face. Another good actor was Scott Wilson who played the part of George. He made me feel sorry for him because he always thought that Myrtle loved him and he would do anything for her. He conveyed the tragic feeling of the novel best of all. He was the most innocent of all and he paid with his life. Tom was played by Bruce Dern. The only thing that resembled Tom was his face. In the book he comes across as a very strong character but in the film he's not so big or athletic.
I was not as happy with the female performances. Daisy was played by Mia Farrow. She's absolutely not what I expected because in the book she's described as very beautiful but I didn't think she was in the film. Her voice was supposed to be her greatest quality, but in the film I found it very ordinary. Jordan Baker who was played by Lois Childes was quite interesting. I think she would have been a better Daisy than Mia Farrow. Myrtle put in a very strong performance. She was played by Karen Black with great involvement. In the book she's described as a very strong character and this is shown very well in the film.
The best scene in my view was played by George Wilson just before and after the tragic accident when Myrtle is killed. His crying and the feelings which he showed were very credible. He made me feel great sympathy for him and his tragic situation. Some other scenes which I enjoyed and were effective were the party scenes. They showed lots of different aspects of life in the 1920's. There was the music, the glittering costumes, the sounds which conveyed the spirit of the times and they were very convincing. I really enjoyed the book so the film didn't really match my expectations, however, it was an interesting film.
Andrea D.