Review: The Great Gatsby

Where do we begin?

Firstly, Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation was accurate and true to the novel, only because it felt like F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby purely for Luhrmann to direct.  He even makes a cameo appearance, hard to recognize, but Luhrmann has one of those forgettable faces you always have to Google.  Contrarily, his work is anything but forgettable. 

Please note, before proceeding that this review is from the perspective of a cinematography fanatic and literature nerd, so everything will be my incredibly perceptive and overly-biased opinion.

If I had to use a word to describe this movie, I would say it was “Gatsby”.  Baz Luhrmann did not hold back on the garish glamour and extravagant theatrics, as I am sure many of you have already read about in other reviews.  Although it obtained a score of 51% by Rotten Tomatoes, which I can assure you, also had me a little fearful and worried, it was a perfect representation of “new money” in the roaring 20’s.   

I was pleased with most of the character choices, even the unknowns delivered worthy performances in their portrayals.  I thought maybe having a famous face like Leo DiCaprio’s would take away from who Gatsby is, but instead contributed to it.  One thing is certain, even though Leo is plagued with the curse of “never getting an Oscar no matter how well I perform” he pulls off the “guy who becomes so consumed with an idea that he loses all rationality”, which is who Gatsby really is. 

Also, I realized that Leo is good at dying.  There was a bit of Jack Dawson and Romeo Monatgue in Gatsby’s eyes when he was shot.  In fact one of my friends mentioned it was a bit of a tongue-in-cheek reminder of Titanic. 

As for Tobey Maguire, he carried the story as the narrator Nick Carraway.  I was a bit upset when I found out that Luhrmann turned Nick into a depressed alcoholic with a shrink, but within the opening scenes, I knew why he decided to take this route.  The book indicates that Nick leaves New York and returns to his morals, but really, if we had to put ourselves in his shoes, no one can bear witness to all these vile secrets and not be mentally unstable.  

Carey Mulligan managed to be superficial and adorable at the same time, much like we have come to know Daisy to be like.  In previous work, we have seen Mulligan be emotive and add depth to her characters, she maintains Daisy’s vacant demeanour.   In fact, I finally understand Daisy’s easy-to-love, all-American girl image much better than I did when I was a high-school student, Gatsby's love for her is believable.

Jay Z’s music was quite fitting too.  There were more songs in the trailer and credits than the actual movie.  It was quite a pleasure to hear some old school Jay Z blended well with the 20’s theme.  As an appreciator of independent music and a fan of the XX, I felt a fire stir up in my heart every time I heard their score throughout the movie.   

The movie matches the book quite well.  It is longer than two hours, for good reason, and I only noticed two things that were not shown.  Two things that do not take away from the meaning and the message of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel.  Everything was well thought out and put together.      

If I had to advise you on watching it in 3D or not… then I would have to ask you, “Why not?” It was shot entirely in 3D and if you consider all the lengths Baz Luhrmann and his team went, to recreate the memory and vision of a literary genius you will know why he took so long to release it.

You could watch the movie without reading the book, but I would definitely read the book first (I am talking to you Matrics!), that way you can appreciate what Luhrmann has done to bring the Great Gatsby to life. 

This movie walks away with a decent stamp of approval:  5 gold Gatsby stars.

Birds fly North

Winter has arrived, it is no secret.  She hardly greeted us with that rude demeanour.  She barely shook our hands, or tried to ease us in.  No, she arrived like an unwanted guest at a dinner party.  Flung her lifeless belongings all over our lives.  Made us change plans to accommodate her.  Now we have to deal with her cold personality.  She glares at our futile attempts to warm up to her, leaving us feeling awkward and out of place.

It is time to bury our short shorts, weightless sandals and the tiny tops that took half the time to launder.  Now we have to unearth those water bottles, thick blankets, heavy coats and boots.  She came bearing no good intentions, only death.  She restricts us and frightens us with her threats of illness.

Even the Sun turns away in her presence.  The days grow shorter out of fear of her wrath.  The grass loses its colour, the flowers shrivel and die.  The animals hide in darkness.  Even the birds fly North.  Not us.  We cannot leave.  She has cornered off any hope for escape.  We cannot see beyond the cold.  Her bitterness blinds us.  She imprisons us with the illusion of loneliness.

No one else feels the cold like I do.  No one else is as weak as I am.  I am never going to see this through.  It is better to die in the cold, when I have nothing more to lose.  That is what Winter does to us.  She isolates us from reality.  She feeds off our doubt.  She breaks us from the inside.

We are not birds, we cannot fly away from our problems.  We cannot set up temporary shelters and live off the Earth.  We are humans, and we complicate things, naturally.  We cannot die without putting up a fight.  We are humans, and we fight, naturally.

What is it that makes us believe that we can still live despite our losses?  What is it that gives us strength to endure Winter?  What gives us hope to know that the Sun will turn to face us again and warm up our lives?  Winter comes and takes away every part of our being, but what are we holding onto so faithfully?

There are over 7 Billion people in the world, and everyone of us believes that we live for a reason. Not one of us is an accident, no matter how controversial the circumstances of our conception.  Everything about us is intentional.  Our purpose is embedded in our DNA and we will not allow it to slip away from us because we own it.  That is why birds fly North in the Winter.  They risk their lives on that laborious journey because they know they live for a greater purpose and they will risk losing their lives to fulfil that purpose.

We endure Winter because we hold onto the hope of our destiny.  I realised that I did not choose my destiny, my destiny chose me.  I keep fighting, because something else chose me first.  We keep fighting because we have a purpose.  We only stop until we are sure that it has been fulfilled.  We were not made to fly North, we were made to fight for that in which we believe.  We bear the cold, because even though Winter has come to kill and destroy, Summer will return, in glorious victory. 

Fight for your future, because you have one. 

   

       

No hope for humanity

Romans 3:23-24 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (NIV)

Is there still hope for humanity?  We live in a world filled with fear, hate and death.  We live among vile, self-destructive people.  We ourselves are capable of wicked, unthinkable actions, of which we are not yet aware.  These are harsh statements, but it is the truth.  We are natural born sinners.

Sure, we are capable of doing good. Many people have done good things in this world, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln are just a few of these iconic people.  But doing good is a choice one has to make, it does not come naturally.  

We can not save ourselves.  Every hero falls.  Shakespeare wrote about them; Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth, Lear, Brutus and Romeo.  I like to think of Hillbrow as a modern day Shakespearean hero.  In the heart of the city of Johannesburg, with so much promise, all that glory was too much to contain, it opened doors for crime which eventually led to its demise. These heroes all have good intentions, but those good intentions are never enough to keep them on the right track.  Look at modern examples like Anakin Skywalker; in an attempt to save his wife, a good deed, he turns to the dark side.  I am a huge fan of anime, my favorite is Death Note.  It is about a teenager named Light, who is disgusted at humanity.  He stumbles upon a book known as the Death Note. The book gives him authority to take lives by writing down the name of the person who must die in the book.  He decides to use the book to rid the world of evil people.  Eventually he becomes so consumed with this power that he starts killing innocent people who pose a threat to him.  He eventually becomes the evil he hates.  He started with good intentions, but his human nature destroyed him.  

I know it is important to watch the news, to know what is happening in the world, but sometimes, all that disaster becomes too much to bear.  I go through periods of not watching the news sometimes, just so that I can clear my head and detox from that misery.  I never want to get to the point where this kind of living becomes normal, because it is not.  We can not become numb to the injustices of the world, but when will it all end?  Never?

We are humans, the fate of the world rests in our incapable hands.  Our sinful, broken hands.  There is no hope for humanity because we will never change our ways.  You can not change your nature.  A lion may be raised in a tame environment, but his nature will come out eventually.

There will always be death, destruction and evil, wherever there are humans.  But there is a God and He is not human.  He is perfect, righteous, holy and completely blameless.  God knew we could never save ourselves and that is why He sent Jesus.  Only Jesus could save us.  He was the perfect sacrifice, He bore the sin of the world when He hung on the cross.  Jesus was enough.  Jesus is the hope of humanity.

Conversations with Myself

 This is not a conventional recreational activity, in fact most people are discouraged from talking to themselves.  The thought of talking to yourself, this simple idea is so judged, but yet it is so inherent in the way we live.  Is not every thought you have a conversation with yourself?  

Remember the days when you use to believe in the power of imagination?  Those friends and those memories, all theoretical, all thoughts, but so alive and real within the limitless world of your mind.  Is it madness? Is it truth? Is it madness to think that everything you need to discover the truth is locked within you? 

One of my teachers spoke to us about our studying techniques.  She told us that we already knew what we had to know, the problem was retrieving that information and communicating it correctly when it was required of us.  Then again, how would you know, what you do know if you never asked yourself what you did not know you knew about?

As crazy as this sounds, I find conversations with myself to be quite entertaining.  In fact I have found myself to be quite humorous, sometimes strange, but it helps me process everything the world bombards me with and makes me more perceptive.  You should try it, you might feel lighter, sometimes heavier but always more sure of what you know.

One of my conversations: #689524731

Me:  What do you prefer? Vampires or zombies?
Me: Why are we having this conversation?
Me: Well, vampires drink blood and zombies eat brains, so decide, do you want to lose your brain or your blood?
Me: Vampires are less creepy, no wait I can't tell the difference.  They are equally creepy.
Me: I'd choose vampires; only because there are blood banks.  I would have chosen zombies, but there aren't any brain banks.
Me: That makes sense, this is a crazy conversation, but it still makes sense. 

Revelations (the first of many)

Ephesians 5:27 That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having a spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing: but that it should be holy and without blemish- KJV

In the past few months I have found myself praying for the desire for God's righteousness.  I want His holiness to consume me from the inside out and I never want that passionate flame to ever stop burning.

I am so weary of that because in the past I have started up, passionate for God and then it is not long before I allow my humanness to kill that flame.  This time however, it is a genuine desire of mine because I have received a revelation from God, and when those happen, you know you should listen.

I have just been reflecting on my life and I have realized that I am blessed.  I have not suffered major traumas.  Both my parents are alive, they love Jesus and they love each other.  I have been raised in a good family.  I have accomplished so many things, not all great and glamorous but personal things of which I am proud.  Thinking of all the places I could have been or the person I could have become, I am just in awe of God's amazing grace.

My life is literally gushing with God's grace and I can no longer keep this good news to myself, I have to share this revelation.  I was 11 years old when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and He has been faithful to His promise everyday since then, and every day before I committed to Him.

When we choose Jesus, we choose a life without sin.  All our past sins are forgiven and He forgives us for all we might do in the future.  He sanctifies us and we desire that sanctification.  We live to worship Him and we desire to worship and love Him because He has designed us that way.  He gives us these desires and He is the ony one who can fill the void in our hearts, He completes us.  We are only truly happy when we live for Him, when we live in righteousness that glorifies Him.

The thing is- I thought that those were only spiritual provisions.  But God makes physical provisions for us too.  I do not have a dramatic life, as you know by now, and that is because God's grace extends to my physical reality.  My spiritual life overflows in all areas of my life.  My future is secure because I know it is cradled in God's grace.

We have heard that He washes away our sin and that our past is made pure and white as snow.  He does that for our futures too.  Whatever our futures may have been is completely wiped out and His perfect will reigns over it.  I have no past blemishes and I can rest assured that my future will remain without blemish.

As long as we hold onto Him, desire Him, love Him and the things He loves, our lives will reflect His goodness.  Bad things may happen, there will be sadness, times of defeat and hurt, but He will keep us pure and righteous through it all.

His grace is amazing, did you know that?

Surrender Your Heart

Surrender Your Heart, Because I did First

I Took a Leap of Faith, My Hope was Cursed

Our Path was Narrow, I Prayed for Blessings

Our Destiny was Written in the Stars

I use to Fight, For a Future with You

Visions of a Dance, A Dream with a View

Our Moment was Stolen, When You Forgot

Our World Became Heavy and You Gave Up

I Carried the Burden, Of Loving You

Despite Your Failures and Hurt, I was True

Our Future was Burning, I Still Believed

Our God Gave Me Strength as I Cleaved to a Dream

But When You Left, I Started to Forget

Pleaded with Heaven, To Forgive Our Debt

Our Souls are Marred, By the Choices We Made

I Love Too Much and You Love Too Little

I am Empty, And now I am Searching

I Find Nothing, And This Wound Keeps Hurting

I Can't Think Fondly, And I Can't Wait Much More

Do One thing for Me, Surrender Your Heart