Put down the book and just enjoy. That’s the best advice I can give movie goers about Baz Luhrmann‘s “The Great Gatsby.” In this stunning and sparkling display of the classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Luhrmann and his brilliant cast take you back in time to New York City in 1922.

For those of you who haven’t gone through American Literature your junior year or have read and forgotten the story-line (although I don’t know how you could), here is a brief synopsis. Following the end of the Great War in 1919 and the rise of the Roaring Twenties, full of flappers, speakeasies, jazz music, and loose morals, Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) moves from the Midwest to New York City.

Carraway, the narrator of our film, takes you along for his journey in the Eggs of New York, two peninsulas separated by a bay that hold the elitist of elite. Carraway meets up with his distant cousin Daisy Buchanan (Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan) and her brute of a All-American husband Tom (Joel Edgerton). Throughout this summer, secrets are revealed, relationships tested and ….. parties thrown. Nick’s neighbor, the mysterious Jay Gatsby, played by Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio, throws wild extravaganzas described by Nick as an “amusement park”. The illegal booze are flowing and the skirts are short. It is the epitome of a 1920’s good time.

I warn you to precede with caution. I’ll admit it; I’m extraordinarily biased. “The Great Gatsby” has been my favorite book for some time and I knew that no matter what they did to the movie, there would be something I would love.

The acting is what stuck out of me most in this movie, also available in 3-D. I was worried about this A-List cast being able to adopt to my beloved characters and I was not disappointed. DiCaprio is the perfect Gatsby, alluring, cunning, charming, and hopelessly in love with the green light at the end of the Buchanan’s dock and all it represents. Mulligan is wistful, intelligent, graceful and a little snobby, the perfect attributes to Mrs. Buchanan. Everyone was spot on.

The special effects, however, weren’t. I knew that since it was a Baz Luhrmann film it would be dramatic; just look at his portfolio of his remake of “Romeo + Juliet” (also staring DiCaprio) and “Moulin Rouge.” I knew there would be color, epic cinematography and, from what I heard of the soundtrack, an interesting mix of old -school jazz, new-age hip-hop, and indie music. It was too “green-screeny,” in my opinion. The effects looked over-done and fact. It would give more to the film if they had rented out a mansion in Long-Island and filled it full of extras instead of hosting almost the entire film in a movie set. I didn’t like how fake it looked.

Separate the film from the book in your mind. Create two separate entities. I thought the movie was glamorous and on-point, but I did find flaws and things I didn’t like of a movie-adaption of the novel. It is still a definite must see that will have you wishing you had been born in a different era.