The Great Gatsby is a 2013 historical romantic drama film based on the 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film was co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann and stars an ensemble cast consisting of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, and Elizabeth Debicki.

Filming took place from September to December 2011 in Australia, with a $105 million net production budget. The film follows the life and times of millionaire Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio) and his neighbor Nick Carraway (Maguire) who recounts his interactions with Gatsby amid the riotous parties of the Jazz Age on Long Island in New York.

A polarizing film among critics, The Great Gatsby received both praise and criticism for its visual style, direction, screenplay, performances, soundtrack, and interpretation of the source material. Audiences responded more positively, and Fitzgerald’s granddaughter praised the film, stating “Scott would have been proud.” As of 2023, it is Luhrmann’s highest-grossing film, grossing over $353 million worldwide. At the 86th Academy Awards, the film won in both of its nominated categories: Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.

Plot

In December 1929, World War I veteran Nick Carraway, undergoing treatment at a psychiatric hospital, tells his doctor about Jay Gatsby, the most hopeful man he ever met. The doctor suggests Nick tap into his passion and write down his thoughts, and Nick begins cataloging the events to his doctor.

Seven years earlier, in the summer of 1922, Nick moved from the Midwest to New York, where he rents a small groundskeeper’s cottage in the North Shore village of West Egg, next to the mansion of Gatsby, a mysterious business magnate who often hosts extravagant parties.

Nick has dinner with his cousin Daisy Buchanan and her domineering husband, Tom, at their mansion in East Egg. Daisy plays matchmaker between Nick and another guest, Jordan Baker, a famous golfer. When Nick returns home, he sees Gatsby standing by the harbor, reaching toward a green light coming from the Buchanans’ dock.

Tom brings Nick to the Valley of Ashes, an industrial dumping site between West Egg and the city and picks up his mistress Myrtle Wilson at a garage owned by her husband George. One day, Nick receives an invitation to one of Gatsby’s parties.

There, Nick encounters Jordan and they both meet Gatsby. Gatsby takes Nick to Manhattan for lunch, telling Nick on the way that he is an Oxford graduate and war hero from a wealthy Midwestern family. They go to a speakeasy, where Gatsby introduces Nick to his business partner Meyer Wolfsheim.

Jordan tells Nick how Gatsby, a Captain of the U.S. Army, started a relationship with Daisy in 1917 before America entered World War I, and is still in love with her; he throws parties hoping that Daisy might attend. Gatsby asks Nick to invite Daisy to tea. After an awkward reunion, Gatsby and Daisy begin an affair.

Gatsby is dismayed when Daisy wants to run away with him, preferring that she get a proper divorce. He asks Nick and Jordan to accompany him to the Buchanan home, where he and Daisy plan to tell Tom that Daisy is leaving him. During the luncheon, Tom becomes suspicious of Gatsby and Daisy, but Daisy stops Gatsby from revealing anything to Tom and suggests they all go to the Plaza Hotel. Tom drives Nick and Jordan in Gatsby’s car while Gatsby drives Daisy in Tom’s car. Tom stops for gas at George’s garage, where George tells him that he and Myrtle are moving out.

At the Plaza, Tom accuses Gatsby of having never attended Oxford and having made his fortune through bootlegging with mobsters. Eventually, both Gatsby and Daisy leave. After fighting with George over her infidelity, Myrtle runs into the street and is fatally struck by Gatsby’s car after mistaking it for Tom’s. Upon learning about Myrtle’s death, Tom tells George that the car belongs to Gatsby and that he suspects Gatsby was Myrtle’s lover, while Nick deduces Daisy was driving when the accident happened. Nick, overhearing Daisy accepting Tom’s promise to take care of everything, tries to warn Gatsby about it, but the latter claimed that Daisy needs to make up her decision about living with Gatsby.

Inside the mansion, Gatsby tells Nick the truth: that he was born penniless, his real name is James Gatz, and he had asked Daisy to wait for him until he had made something of himself after the war; instead, she married Tom seven months after the war ended. The next day, Nick goes back to work, and Gatsby awaits a call from Daisy while swimming in his pool. The phone rings, and Gatsby’s butler answers it.

Believing the caller to be Daisy, Gatsby is shot and killed by a vengeful George, who then commits suicide. Nick, who was the one calling, hears the gunshots and is the only person other than reporters to attend Gatsby’s funeral as Daisy, Tom, and their daughter are leaving New York. The media falsely and negatively paints Gatsby as Myrtle’s lover and killer, enraging Nick. Disgusted with both the city and its inhabitants, Nick leaves after taking a final walk-through Gatsby’s deserted mansion and reflecting on Gatsby’s ability to hope.

Nick finishes typing his memoir and titles it The Great Gatsby.

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio as James Gatz / Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who hosts wild parties at his house with the hope that his former lover Daisy will return

Tasman Palazzi as young James Gatz

Callan McAuliffe as teen James Gatz

Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway, an aspiring writer, Gatsby’s friend, and the film’s narrator

Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby’s former lover, Tom’s wife, and Nick’s cousin

Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan, an old money socialite who hates Gatsby because of his new money status and relationship with Daisy

Jason Clarke as George Wilson, Myrtle’s husband and owner of a gas station in Valley of Ashes

Isla Fisher as Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s mistress and an ambitious social climber

Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker, a golf star and Daisy’s best friend

Amitabh Bachchan as Meyer Wolfsheim, a gambler who met Gatsby in 1919

Jack Thompson as Walter Perkins, a doctor at the psychiatric hospital where Nick is a patient

Adelaide Clemens as Catherine, Myrtle’s sister

Richard Carter as Herzog, Gatsby’s butler

Steve Bisley as Dan Cody, an alcoholic millionaire yacht owner that Gatsby met in his teenage years

Felix Williamson as Henri

Barry Otto as Benny McClenehan

Heather Mitchell as Daisy’s Mother

Brian Rooney as Clerk – Probity Trust

ProductionDevelopment

Prior to the 2013 adaptation, there were four earlier film adaptations of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel of the same name, including a now-lost 1926 version, a 1949 version, a 1974 version, and a 2000 made for TV version. In December 2008, Variety reported that Baz Luhrmann would direct this latest adaptation. Luhrmann stated that he planned it to be more up-to-date due to its theme of criticizing the often irresponsible lifestyles of wealthy people.

While Luhrmann was at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2011, he told The Hollywood Reporter that he had been workshopping The Great Gatsby in 3D, though he had not yet decided whether to shoot in the format. In late January 2011, Luhrmann showed doubt about staying on board with the project but decided to stay. In 2010, it was reported that the film was being set up by Sony Pictures Entertainment. However, by 2011, Warner Bros. was close to acquiring a deal to finance and take worldwide distribution of The Great Gatsby.

Casting

Luhrmann said the results from the movie’s workshop process of auditioning actors for roles in The Great Gatsby had been “very encouraging” to him. Leonardo DiCaprio was cast first, in the title role of Jay Gatsby. It is the second time Luhrmann and DiCaprio worked together; DiCaprio costarred in Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996). Tobey Maguire was cast to play Nick Carraway, marking the third collaboration between Maguire and DiCaprio following This Boy’s Life and Don’s Plum.

Initial reports linked Amanda Seyfried to the lead role of Daisy Buchanan, in October 2010. The next month Deadline Hollywood reported that Luhrmann had been auditioning numerous actresses, including Seyfried, Keira Knightley, Jessica Alba, Rebecca Hall, Blake Lively, Abbie Cornish, Michelle Williams and Scarlett Johansson, as well as considering Natalie Portman, for Daisy. Soon afterward, with her commitment to Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo (2011), Johansson pulled out.

On November 15, Luhrmann announced that Carey Mulligan had been cast to play Daisy after reading for the part on November 2 in New York. Mulligan won the role shortly after Luhrmann showed her audition footage to Sony Pictures Entertainment executives Amy Pascal and Doug Belgrad, who were impressed by the actress’ command of the character.

Mulligan burst into tears after learning of her casting via a phone call from Luhrmann, who informed her of his decision while she was on the red carpet at an event in New York. Luhrmann said: “I was privileged to explore the character with some of the world’s most talented actresses, each one bringing their own particular interpretation, all of which were legitimate and exciting.

However, specific to this particular production of The Great Gatsby, I was thrilled to pick up the phone an hour ago to the young Oscar-nominated British actress Carey Mulligan and say to her: ‘Hello, Daisy Buchanan.'”

In April 2011, Ben Affleck was in talks about playing the role of Tom Buchanan but had to pass due to a scheduling conflict with Argo (2012). Bradley Cooper had previously lobbied for the part, and Luke Evans was a major contender. In May, Joel Edgerton was confirmed in the part of Tom. Isla Fisher was cast to play Myrtle Wilson.

Australian newcomer Elizabeth Debicki won the part of Jordan Baker. While casting for the supporting role of Jordan, Luhrmann said