Friday, May 31, 2013

The Great Gatsby Premiere

Last night our town had a premiere of 'The Great Gatsby'. It was a dress-up event with raffles, supper and drinks. I was really surprised at just how many people actually made an effort to dress-up/attend the night and there were some really cool outfits. I went with my older cousin and did her hair in finger-waves (sorry I didn't get any pictures of it).

I wore a lace dress that my aunt bought for me when I was in grade twelve. I hadn't tried on the dress since and while it fitted, the petticoat it came with was a little firm (so I guess I will have to invest in a new black petticoat). I took a 2nd hand chiffon blouse to wear over the dress in the cold air-conditioning and a tapestry bag I bought at the markets. The only jewellery I wore was a pair of dangle chandelier earrings and I wore my new limecrime lippy. My mum had a pale powder that really suited and I actually wore eyeliner pencil under my eyes for a change. (Didn't get any nice close-ups of the make-up either). I let my cousin borrow a lacy dress of mine (I have a bit of a thing for lace dresses!)


^This is what I wore. Mum is taking the picture for a change. And, it is a black dress, but I edited the photos for a more dramatic effect.

^Here is a picture of a mini-mag that came with VOGUE and my copy of 'The Great Gatsby' that I read about two years ago.

When I came out of the cinema I wasn't really sure. I really liked the visuals, the parties, the costumes, the soundtrack, the story, but I just wasn't convinced that I loved it. Today I found myself mulling over certain scenes. Over less than a day I can say that the film has really grown on me and that I am really anxious about getting the DVD. The selling point was Leo Di Caprio and the emotion that he displayed. 

I know that a lot of bloggers are really going to go out of their way to analyse the film and compare it to the great F Scott Fitzgerald novel. As I have said before I am able to appreciate these novel-to-film adaptations as separate entities and while I will tend to choose a favourite, I generally don't hate "the other one" unless it is indeed bad. I thought Mr Baz did a great job of converting it to a film (I was actually worried that it wouldn't be a long enough film). As far as fictional characters go, we all tend to have our own ideas of what they would look like or sound like in our own minds so it is never going to be spot on. 

One thing I was curious about was the authenticity. I knew that they were doing a modern (upbeat) soundtrack and that there were going to be some opinions about that. I was really happy with the soundtrack and thought it was nicely done. I didn't notice any slip-ups on the directors part, but I'm sure there will be some (there always are). The film was also a slow, long film (which is to be expected with a costume film), but it kept me interested the whole time...

I think that like the book, the movie has some great messages in it and does really make you think about how you treat people. I think that if you liked 'Marie Antoinette' that you will possibly like this, similar sort of thing in another era... Yay for the twenties!

Your Favourite Blogger,
Natalie

9 comments:

Wall-to-wall books said...

Oh my gosh! Aren't you so cute!

I hate to say that I am not interested in watching the movie at all :-(
I did read the book years ago!

Nat - please check out my latest "Fun Friday" post it is all about our fav fashion - right up your alley!

Witchcrafted Life said...

You look strikingly lovely, dear gal - the 1920s suits you very well.

I've not had a chance to see the movie yet (and doubt I will while it's still in theaters - DVD or Netflix it will be then), but my husband did twice and thoroughly loved it. He's rating it amongst his top favourite movies of all time, and as I think he's a very good movie critic usually, this just makes me all the more excited to see it eventually myself, too.

♥ Jessica

Anonymous said...

Love it! As already said, the 1920s style really suits you!
Hoping to see the movie soon, I love Baz Luhrmann's movies.

Katja (YA's the Word)

Natalie_vintage_girl said...

Thanks for the loveley comments! I hope you enjoy the movie katja and jessica:-)

Unknown said...

As has already been noted, you look dynamite. Petfect for the premier of this film, twenties yet updated.
As for the film. I found it to be a bit heavy and overdone. The actors were never able to dispell my awareness of their acting. I could not escape the sensation that they were trying too hard to deliver bravo performances and as a result, unintentionally, over acting.
A great soundtrack is one, with the exception of musicals, that you aren't even aware that you are enjoying. A great soundtrack should never compete for your attention with the story, rather it should invisibly, effortlessly assist in drawing the viewer into the story. I found this soundtrack, while musically competent, too "in your face.
I ordinarily enjoy Baz Luhrmanns work but I felt that his style did not work well with the story. This was a very ambitious, grand, grandeouse attempt to update a classic that ultimately collapsed beneath the weight of its own effort. Despite its almost annoyingly dogged stylistic reminders of what a large, great, lavish, big film it was I found it to be merely a decent picture. Interesting at best, not great or even very good. None of this should take away from the efforts of the costumers and set designers whose standout work may be the best in many years.

Natalie_vintage_girl said...

Well, I really liked it, but each to their own i guess. I can see how to some the movie would come accross that way and for a small portion of the movie I did feel a little that way too. It certainly did grow on me though and I cannot wait to pick up the DVD and see how it fares on a smaller screen.

Unknown said...

I was probably a little hard on it. It was probably a little better than I made it sound. I think it was just hard for me to not be a little dissapointed given the enormous amount of hype and lengthy buildup that it recieved.

Unknown said...

Apparently I have a little fixation with the word little this morning. A little sloppy for me. Maybe a little more coffee is what I need.

Natalie_vintage_girl said...

Lol dont worry my latest fixation is the word generally. I am waiting for people to get sick of it. Yes, i know the hype really bothers a lot of people. I dont know why but i seem to be imune. Maybe i was just too concerned with wanting to go to the premiere and not sure if anyone would actually go with me. It would be interesting to see what people who didnt read the book thought for sure.