Friday night I could not wait until 7 o'clock to see "The Great Gatsby" because after just finishing the novel, I was excited to see how director Baz Luhrmann was going to adapt the classic american novel into a movie. I would like to compare and contrast the two works and then pose a question: Why do you think Luhrmann chose to add, cut or emphasis certain scenes from the novel?
Comparisons:
Some critics think that the movie was almost "too similar" to the book. Fox News reports that the
"characters’ skewed perceptions of reality, love and distraction of materialism and their hollow notion of love" was quite similar to how they were portrayed in the book. For example, we see just like in the novel how Tom tries to win Daisy's love by giving her $350,000 pearls. That to me seems more like materialistic love than true love.
Also, the plot line is very similar, to sum it up in a nutshell: Gatsby longs for Daisy--throws lavish parties to try to win her back, Tom has an affair with Myrtle, Nick helps Gatsby in pursuit of Daisy, Daisy and Gatsby have an affair, Daisy runs Myrtle over in her car and Gatsby takes the blame, Mr. Wilson kills himself and Gatsby...You get the point the plot line was very similar. However, there were a few things left out.
Contrasts:
There were four things that really stood out to me as different from the novel. First, There is a lack of Wolfsheim in the movie. In the novel it is emphasized quite frequently that Wolfsheim is Jewish and Nick seems to have some antisemitic viewpoints...not so much in the movie though. Let's also remember that the book was written before World War II. Second, Tom Buchanan seems a little "too nice" in the movie rather then the book. In the movie when Tom comes to greet Nick, he is open arms and welcoming. However in the novel, Tom is described as "Arrogant...[with] a cruel body"(7) when Nick first sees him. Thirdly, Nick is narrating the movie in a psychiatric ward, making him seem like an unreliable narrator because he isn't mentally competent. Compare that to the book, Nick is just reflecting on his time in New York during his narration. Lastly, There is no relationship between Nick and Jordan in the movie, when clearly there is one in the novel. Perhaps Lurhmann wanted us to think that Nick could have had some love for Gatsby...? Maybe.
Why do you think Luhrmann chose to add, cut or emphasis certain scenes from the novel?I s there a bigger theme trying to be highlighted in the film that wasn't in the book? All comments are welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment