Watching The Great Gatsby at Kensington Palace and loving every minute of it from start to finish

Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby was released today and this morning the reviews were, well let’s just say the reviews were not good. Critic after critic slammed this movie as being a disgrace to the original and a shotty adaptation of a beloved work of literary genius. I read the reviews, I digested them, came to terms with them. Then I looked at my invitation to attend the Harrods private screening at Kensington Palace and thought, “I’ve been invited to attend a special screening of this film in a decadent location with one of the leading department stores in London. So if all else fails I will have had a lot of fun with some fabulous people and a great view.” Having now come out the other side of the evening, I’d like to tell you that not only were the location, the guest list and the drinks menu fabulous, so too was the film itself.

For me, personally speaking, Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby had been damned in my mind since the moment I heard it was going into production. How could Robert Redford in Ralph Lauren ever be topped on the big screen for me? My Great Gatsby was Redford and that was the end of that. So again, I must state that I didn’t have high hopes for this movie. The reviews were bad and my own judgement clouded. However, my God was I baffled by what I encountered. Baz Luhrmann has created a beautiful cinematic moment and Leonardo DiCaprio has delivered the role of Great Gatsby with such perfection that I nearly forgot my love of Robert Redford.

My only true sadness was in finding that the end of The Great Gatsby remains the same (for those of you that have read the book, you’ll feel my pain already here). The fact that I was just as emotionally distraught as I was the first time watched the original Great Gatsby only proves my point in how well this film is made. While I know everyone has their own taste in movies, I will say that this one for me was a real winner. Ignore the critics and take a risk on seeing an amazing and classic story come to life once again on the big screen.  I hope it will be worth every minute of your time, as it certainly was for me.

Now, onto some fun things I can share without ruining Gatsby’s tale.

Alongside an amazing screening room set-up, Harrods treated us to flamboyant popcorn girls, delicious cocktails, an exhibition of the original Tiffany jewellery used in the film and a selection of costumes the characters wore in the movie.

This was certainly a night to remember. Thank you, Harrods!

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