Essays by Cassidy H.
The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
REDFORD VS DICAPRIO
The Great Gatsby, by Scott Fitzgerald, is left open for different interpretations and directing choices. The 1974 and 2013 films, directed by Jack Clayton and Baz Luhrmann, stay to the main idea of the book, but are very different in their choices of characters and settings that they use to convey the themes of The Great Gatsby. Baz Luhrmann does take more liberties with his interpretations, but Jack Clayton’s film doesn’t convey the themes of The Great Gatsby.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald describes Tom as hulking, intimidating, brutish, and contemptuous; the way he acts towards others is unpleasant.“His speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed” (7). In the DiCaprio version of The Great Gatsby, Tom (Joel Edgerton) is jovial and friendly. He treats Nick (Tobey Maguire) as an old friend, and he does not exude paternal contempt or fractiousness towards Nick. Lahrmann does a great job of displaying Tom’s prowess and hulking by introducing him finishing polo, striding into his house, and putting his arm on Nick. Clayton’s version of Tom (Bruce Dern) seems to better convey the contempt that Tom emits, but he lacks the presence that Joel Edgerton gives Tom .
Fitzgerald’s Daisy gives the impression of a moroseness that is covered by her flippant, carefree attitude. This is not conveyed in the 1974 film. Daisy (Mia Farrow) pretends to be a beautiful fool by being flippant and not showing any underlying sadnesses. She does show some of her sadness in a scene when Jordan is golfing, but this scene is a deviation from the book. “And I hope she’ll be a fool — that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (118). Daisy chooses to pretend to be ignorant and the beautiful fool; this is shown in an added scene at the end of the movie: Nick, Jordan, Daisy, and Tom have their. In the 2013, film Carey Mulligan gives depth and underlying sadness that is not present in the first movie.
Nick is portrayed as an outsider looking into the lives of the rich. The DiCaprio-Luhrmann movie displays liberal interpretations of Nick’s (Tobey Maguire) character. He is portrayed as a recovering alcoholic in an insane asylum, and the audience is given more from Nick’s character than what the book states. This participation shows more of the negative effects of the glamorous, high life and how it affects other people in the 1920’s. “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness” (170). Showing Nick as an alcoholic shows the carelessness that the rich display towards other, but it is a variation from the book.
The shirt scene is completely different in the two films. The Redford-Clayton version of the film give the impression that Daisy (Mia Farrow) was crying over the loss of this fancy life with Gatsby (Robert Redford); she seemed more superficial and materialistic. It seemed as though she was actually crying over the loss of the material objects that Gatsby could have provided her instead of him. The Dicaprio-Luhrmann film gives Daisy more depth. When Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) throws the shirts, she becomes overwhelmed and almost seems to drown among the shirts, and this foreshadows her not being able to meet Gatsby’s expectations. It also makes it seem as if Daisy (Carey Mulligan) was trying to say something, but she only manages to say that she’s crying over how beautiful the shirts were (118). Nick gives them privacy in this scene, to give Daisy the opportunity to give the reason of why she was crying.
The fight scene in the hotel is completely different in the Dicaprio-Luhrmann film than what is said in the book. This fight exposes Gatsby’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) life of crime and his aggression. The book never gives anything towards an aggressive nature in Gatsby, and the fight only shines light on Gatsby’s illegal actions (chapter 7). Luhrmann’s interpretation gives Daisy (Carey Mulligan) more incentive to return to Tom (Joel Edgerton), and throughout the scene she is visibly and emotionally turning away from Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) and towards Tom. Gatsby’s aggression alters Daisy’s motives for running from him; she is running from possible domestic abuse instead of his life of crime in the mafia.
Music in the two films is completely different. The music in the Luhrmann-directed movie is not accurate to the time period that the movie takes place, but this allows for an audience to more easily relate and understand the themes and characters of the move. This anachronism deviates from the book, but it is a necessary evil in order to convey the messages of The Great Gatsby to the new generation. In the Clayton-Redford version, music is used to contrast the two different relationships: Daisy (Mia Farrow), Gatsby (Robert Redford), Tom (Bruce Dern), and Myrtle (Karen Black). Both couples are committing the same crime, adultery, but the music gives two completely different ideas: seduction and innocence. The juxtaposition of the two couples are further enhanced by the low, swing jazz for Myrtle (Karen Black) and Tom (Bruce Dern), which conveys the vitality they have, and the light, whimsical tune for Gatsby (Robert Redford) and Daisy (Mia Farrow), which enhances the hopefulness of their romance.
Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 film of The Great Gatsby was the better adaptation of the book than the . This adaptation conveyed the themes from the book excellently through its characters, scenes, and music choices. Its deviations from the book were necessary evils in order to convey the themes of the 1920’s to a new audience.
Works Cited
Luhrmann, Baz. The Great Gatsby. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher. Warner Bros Pictures. 2013, DVD.
Clayton, Jack. The Great Gatsby. Perf. Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Bruce Dern, Karen Black, Sam Waterston. Paramount Pictures. 1974, DVD.
Fitzgerald, Scott F. The Great Gatsby. 1925. Scribner. 2013. Print.
Fig. 2. Characters of the 2013 The Great Gatsby. Day, Riley. "Film/Book Review: The Great Gatsby." wab.org, 15 Jun. 2015. 25 Feb. 2015.
fig. 1. Daisy (Mia Farrow) on a magazine cover. Johnston, Kimberely. Pinterest.com, 2012. 25 Feb 2016.