Fitzgerald’s
novel “The Great Gatsby” has been hailed by Curnutt (2007) as being the
quintessential American novel. Sales were originally poor and there was little
talk regarding turning the novel into a movie until the 1926 adaptation which
was pulled and all that remains is a trailer according to Dixon (2003).
Perdikaki (2018) also details the fact that The Great Gatsby has a total of 4
film adaptations, the most recent of which Baz Luhrmanns 2013 attempt starring
Leonardo DiCaprio. The 2013 adaptation according to Pridikaki (2018) is
exciting and entertaining, but critics such as Nabi (2016) argue that Luhrmann
prioritised modernism over realism. When critically comparing the written text
to the film it is important to explore the range of techniques used within the
film to interpret the written text. Furthermore, The Great Gatsby is rife with
themes that were unique to the time period in which it was set, and these have
differing levels of portrayal in the 2013 film adaptation.
Whilst
Luhrmann remained predominantly faithful to classic novel in his adaptation
there were some changes as detailed by Anushirvani and Alinezhadi (2016). Kleven
(2014) draws attention to the fact that the most notable change was the choice
to have Nick Carraway admitted to the sanatorium at the start of the film. Kleven
(2014) proposes that this technique creates the question in the audience’s mind
about the authenticity and accuracy of the events that play out in the film.
Later in the Luhrmann, et al (2013) film, during the party scene in which Nick
meets Gatsby, there is a text overlay in which Nick claims to have been only
drunk twice in his life but the text shows that once has been crossed out. Salmose
(2014) supports the claim that this implies he was in denial whilst also
reiterating the idea that Nick is an unreliable narrator. Furthermore, Scott
(2013) puts forward the idea that keen fans of the book may notice that
Carraways story in the film is in some ways a reflection of the life of the
author of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Patterson
(2013) states erroneously that the themes which are ever so prevalent in the
book have hardship presenting themselves onto the screen, but this cannot be
said for the theme of morality, or the lack there of conteracts Polan (2013).
The first sign of morality is in the scene where Nick first meets Gatsby. Through
the work of Crespo Steinke (2013) an analysis can be made about the fact that Nick
is the only one who has an invitation, all the other partygoers are leeching on
the generosity of Gatsby. Chibnall (2014) draws attention to the fact that this
scene is indicative of the fact that nobody really knows Gatsby. Batchelor
(2013) describes Gatsby as a man of mystery and this is portrayed in relatively
same ways in both the novel and film. Additionally, the party scene in the film
according to Khodamoradpour and Anushirvani (2016) is a good indicator of how
Gatsby is nothing but a spectacle to most people.
In
the book, the work of Frame (2015) shows that love and greed are present
throughout. Love is multifaceted and Lewis (n.d) claims that the book does an
excellent job of highlighting this. Lewis (n.d) goes further to explain the
fact that Gatsby is in love with Daisy, or rather he is in love with a former,
younger version of Daisy. It could be interpreted through the work of Baker
(2017) that Daisy is only in love with herself and married Tom for personal
gain. As the work of Baker (2014) would imply, this is portrayed in the scene
in which she removed the pearls but still married Tom, nonetheless. Gatsby’s
infatuation with a past love feeds into the theme throughout the book which
according to work conducted by Gross and Gross (1998) is that there is a
perfect yet inaccessible love. Another key them is greed which is as Malkmes
(2011) reveals, an ode to the fact that Fitzgerald condemned consumerism and
the underlying commentary of the book exposed what the American dream and the
pursuit of it had done to society throughout the 1920s. Luhrmann does an
excellent job of portraying the obtuse greed of the characters. For instance,
in the 2013 adaptation Luhrmann et al (2013) show that when Nick arranges for
Daisy and Gatsby to meet, Gatsby sends his servants and landscapers to spend
the whole morning filling Nick’s home with flowers, as if the cheap home of
Nick would reflect poorly of Gatsby. Gatsby wants Daisy to recognise his wealth
and this is one of the scenes in the film that subtly hint at this.
Gatsby’s
funeral is an indication of how both Nick and the audience saw Gatsby suggests
Weinstein (1993). Up until this point, Weinstein (1993) draws attention to the
fact that nobody was aware of the web of lies in which Gatsby had told in order
to win back the love of Daisy. The casket is open, and Gatsby is dressed in a
white suit, Abuzahara and Badareen (2017) theorise that this is to serve the
purpose of symbolising his apparent purity. What is more, the camera shots that
Luhrmann chooses to use to capture the relationship between Nick and Gatsby are,
according to Egan (2014), highly charged with emotion. For instance, the work
of Luhrmann, et al (2013) show a close-up camera shot of Nick laying close to
Gatsby and the casket on the spiral staircase. This is indicative that Nick was
the only one to care which according to Hanzo (1953) is a key character trait
in the book. Additionally, the use of the lighting shows Nick drained and sunken
(Luhrmann, et al, 2013). The funeral scene draws a comparison to the party
scene in which Gatsby’s mansion is filled to bursting point with people
leaching from the spectacles in which Gatsby laid out regularly. Marshall
(2013) denotes that not one of the partygoers attended his funeral. Marshall
(2013) also suggests that as a matter of fact, in the book nobody but Nick
attended despite Gatsby’s death being well publicised in New York. However, the
work of Haghanipour (2016) infers that in the film Gatsby’s father did attend
but this only served to shine a light on the real life of Gatsby. The fact that
a very few amount of people attend Gatsby’s funeral goes to show the real depth
of Gatsby’s loneliness, therefore Luhrmann, et al (2013) use wide camera shoots
to dramatize the emptiness of Gatsby’s mansion whilst the funeral is being held.
This cinematographic choice is designed to provoke a strong reaction of sadness
from the audience. Additionally, camera choices that are integral to the novel
transpiring onto the big screen include the scene in which Tom and Nick go to
the city. Often the camera shots used have a dizzying effect which is a
reminder that the audience is being told the story at the will of Nick which
could obscure his perception of reality which is reflected in the camera choice
during this particular scene.
Jay
Gatsby is an iconic character. Luhrmanns choice to cast Leonardo DiCaprio in
the title role was clever and DiCaprio encapsulates the very mysterious nature
of Gatsby but as Alter (2013) suggests, DiCaprio is a seemingly more violent
version of Fitzgerald’s Gatsby. The only drawback of casting DiCaprio according
to O’Connell (2013) is that he fails to portray the fact that Gatsby is 35
which is integral to the story as Gatsby shows signs of immaturity, which based
off face value, DiCaprio may not have been able to showcase. But alas, on the
word of Darlton (2019) DiCaprio once again showcases his stellar acting
abilities and perfectly interprets Gatsby’s nature. However, the same could not be said for the
casting of Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway. According to Orosa (2013) he lacks
the blissful ignorance of the book character and the youthfulness of Fitzgerald’s
version. In similar respects, the casting Carey Mulligan as Daisy is a casting
choice that is critically praised by Salter (2013). Baker (2017) draws
attention to the fact that Daisy as a character in the book is instantly very
unlikable for no other reason than she reflects the readers worst traits.
Mulligan plays this role very naive and innocent whilst still being unlikable.
Aside
from casting choices, Scott, (2013) suggests that Luhrmanns modernisation of
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby takes away from the irony that just a few years
after the novel was set, America fell into the biggest economic depressions in
history. The characters seemed completely unaware that testing times were ahead
and continued to live a life full of splendour. The modernisation completely
takes away the irony as audiences may feel as though it is happening in modern
times. Many such as Bassil (2013) seem to suggest that using Jay-Z to provide
the soundtrack for the film takes away from the Jazz age and forcefully places
The Great Gatsby into modern times and the music is misplaced. Furthermore, the
hair and makeup choice are somewhat respectful of the novel’s timeline but
whilst according to Clemente (2013) the costumes a rife with historical
inaccuracies the costume and makeup do an excellent job in creating a sense of
glamour and elegance that the novel is so famous for. Daisy can be seen with
finger waves and Jordan Baker is often seen sporting a short blunt bob which is
very respective of the 20s era. The same,
however cannot be said for the makeup choices in the film as many of the female
characters are spotted with full lip shapes when women in the 1920s preferred a
“bow” lip. Furthermore, the eyeshadow of the 20s aimed to round the wearers
eyes in order to look more feminine which is not prevalent in the 2013 film
adaptation. All these techniques that the film use in order to interpret the
written text completely modernise the classic, some people such as Rothman
(2013) say that this is a positive as it exposes a whole new generation to the
classic that is The Great Gatsby whilst others argue that it takes away from a
classic of its time.
Fitzgerald
uses a plethora of literary device in order to entice the reader to delve
deeper into Gatsby’s world. One of these such devices according Kochan (2007) include
personification especially in relation to T.J Ecklebergs all seeing eyes. The
reader is first introduced to the billboard when Tom takes New York city in
order to meet with Myrtle, Toms mistress. Fitzgerald (1925) “Their retinas are
one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous
yellow spectacles, which pass over a non-existing nose”. Fitzgerald uses
personification here to create an air of anonymity as the billboard is not able
to “look out” which implies that the billboard observes all the goings on of
the characters and judges their morality. Bettina (1963) explores the fact that
Fitzgerald also makes use of imagery, this is evident when he likens the Valley
of Ashes to a grotesque farm, which allows the reader to conjure their own
interpretation of the scene. Furthermore, Smith (2006) investigates the fact Fitzgerald
plays on dramatic irony and foreshadows the death of Gatsby when Gatsby’s
mansion is described as blazing “gaudily” on. This is a direct parallel to the
end, once Gatsby is dead when all the lights in Gatsby’s mansion are not on.
The
colours most prevalent in both the book and film adaptation of The Great Gatsby
are green and yellow. Both have similar meanings with different undertones. As
an example, Rea (2000) examines that both colours signify wealth, but the
colour green actually symbolises the apparent greed whereas yellow and the many
shades that present throughout the story both in print and on screen is a
symbolisation of old money and new money as well as Gatsby being a spectacle.
This is best embodied and realised throughout the film in Gatsby’s car. The car
according to Grissom (2014) is a spectacle which indicates that Gatsby would like
to be seen. When Nick and Gatsby go into the city, the car is intended to be
seen by the colour and how fast it is going. All the other cars have no option
but to blend into the background. This also represents the other characters in
the story and their connection to Nick through the story. Everyone blends into
the background except Gatsby.
Overall,
despite criticism over the modernisation of The Great Gatsby, it is clear to
see why it was a box office success. Luhrmann perfectly retells the classic
through a surplus of film techniques and utilises lighting and camera angles to
provoke emotions from the audience. The film perfectly addresses and embodies
the themes ever so present in the novel such as love, greed and morality as
well as visually emphasising the importance of the underlying messages of the classic.
The 2013 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby is a modern classic.
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