The Great Gatsby (2000 film)

The Great Gatsby is a 2000 historical romantic drama television film based on the 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was directed by Robert Markowitz, written by John J. McLaughlin, and stars Toby Stephens in the title role of Jay Gatsby, Mira Sorvino as Daisy Buchanan, Paul Rudd as Nick Carraway, Martin Donovan as Tom Buchanan, Francie Swift as Jordan Baker, Heather Goldenhersh as Myrtle Wilson, and Matt Malloy as Klipspringer. The film aired in the United Kingdom on BBC on March 29, 2000, and in the United States on A&E on January 14, 2001.

Hampered by a limited $5 million budget and hastily filmed in Montreal, Canada, to reduce costs, the A&E television adaptation suffered from low production values, and the critical response to its broadcast was overwhelmingly negative. The New York Times dismissed it as "flat-footed," The Guardian described it as "uninspired," and The Boston Globe savaged it as "mediocre". The performances of Toby Stephens as Jay Gatsby and Mira Sorvino as Daisy Buchanan were particularly ill-received by a number of critics, although Paul Rudd's performance as Nick Carraway garnered praise.

Plot

Nick Carraway is a young bond salesman who rents a cottage on Long Island, New York, near the mansion of the wealthy and reclusive Jay Gatsby. Nick gets to know Gatsby, who was a poor man named Gatz before he left to fight in World War I. Gatsby fell in love with a beautiful woman from a wealthy family, Daisy. When he returned, Gatz was determined to prove himself worthy to win her hand, even though Daisy had by this time married the socially prominent Tom Buchanan. Gatsby has yet to give up on his romantic dream and enlists Nick, who is distantly related to Daisy, in his plan.