The Great Gatsby
Film Review
As you watch Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation of T
​ ​ he Great Gatsby, please take notes on the following elements of
film:
● Casting/acting
● Special effects, colors & visual design
● Cinematography & editing
● Sets/props
● Costumes
● Music
● Script/story (compared to source material)
Click ​here​ to find example film reviews. (Search for a movie you’ve seen recently, and click on “top critic” reviews
to see examples.) I would not recommend searching for reviews
​
of ​The Great Gatsby. This makes it tempting to
“borrow” some ideas, and you DO NOT want to plagiarize. This review must be 100% your own words. If you will
be tempted to ​ borrow from other ​Gatsby reviews, don’t read them!
Your film review should follow this basic structure:
● Introduction:​ Introduce basic information about the film such as film’s name, year, director, screenwriter,
major actors, etc. Begin to show your overall opinion of the film here.
● Plot summary:​ Briefly summarize the plot of the film (no spoilers please) so that readers who haven’t seen
the movie or read the book will have some context for your review.
● Opinion and Analysis (multiple paragraphs): ​This is where your notes will come into play. How well does
Luhrmann’s film interpret the novel? What film-making techniques add to or detract from his portrayal?
Please be specific. (You can even include short quotes from the book if you wish to do some text-to-text
comparisons.) This will be the longest and most detailed part of your review.
● Conclusion​: Leave the reader with an overall analysis and an idea of whether or not the film is worth
seeing.
Your 500 word film review is due ONLINE, December 16th by midnight.