As the story goes for most literary masterpieces-turned-block buster hits, The Great Gatsby (starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow) was entertaining, but not much more than that. It’s opulence and grandeur may have stunned audiences, but it didn’t grasp the essence of the novel.
Gatsby really floundered when it came to casting. While the character of Daisy Buchanan was known for driving men mad with her outrageous beauty and sensuality, Farrow fell short. Although a lovely actress, as well as an attractive one, it is difficult to believe a sane man would chase after her for half a decade. The casting of Tom Buchanan was also a major frailty. Somewhat of a weasel-y man, Dern was hardly the hulking brute he was described as.
The films shortcomings, however, were mostly ones bound to be seen in any movie adaptation, as translating literary genius into film is a near impossibility. For example, because of the limitations of film, most things were simply seen by the audience, rather than narrated by Nick Carraway. Therefore, one loses the insight of nick and the thoughts of others, as well as the beautiful descriptions.
Fortunately, the writers avoided travesty by keeping the script quite close to the dialogue of the novel. Most changes made were either completely necessary or there to further emphasize an important detail. For instance, in the movie, Gatsby gives a sort of promise ring to Daisy in the ever-popular color—green—only to further stress the significance of color symbolism. Another example is Gatsby playing the song “When We Were Seventeen” while with Daisy and when he dies. Although this detail is not in the book, it shows Gatsby and Daisy trying to live in the past, up until the day he dies.
While the film added elements that weren’t completely necessary, it also changed and cut scenes, which had a negative affect. For example, the introduction of Tom, Daisy, Jordan, and Gatsby is very important to character development, and in the movie it is changed for no apparent reason. In the novel, Tom is first introduced boasting about his success, while Daisy and Jordan are sprawled lazily on the couch. This sets up one’s image of the three characters, and gives insight into their personalities. (Tom, of course, is overbearingly self-important, and Daisy and Jordan are careless.) In the movie, however, the characters are not presented as such. The introduction of Gatsby in the movie is somewhat eerie, and he appears to be socially inept, instead of anti-social by choice.
It is clear that all involved in the creation and production of Gatsby made an attempt to stick with Fitzgerald’s original work—which is honorable in itself—but it still didn’t hold the same power and spirit as one would hope to see.
