preview

The Great Gatsby Movie Vs Book

Decent Essays

Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of the 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, was a vividly compelling movie that lost some power through translation. It relates very well to modern times while still following the 1920s setting. However, Luhrmann’s choice in scenes to include is mediocre at best. The pacing was very off skelter. However, the lighting and music choices make up for the failure to mirror the novel accurately. The Great Gatsby was a good idea but poor execution.
One of the first let-downs of The Great Gatsby was the cast. The first scene, from seeing Tobey Maguire as one of the main characters Nick, was a disappointment. He does not have the look of the outsider-looking-in Nick, he resembles more of a naive clueless barely-man. His personality is childish and ignorant, while the Nick described in the book was untrusting and hesitant. However, this was made up for by casting the one, the only, man made for the role of Jay Gatsby, Leonardo DiCaprio! He has the looks, the personality, and the mysteriousness to play Gatsby wonderfully. It’s just as imagined in the book. …show more content…

It’s a mixture of the classic 1920s jazz music, along with songs that are more popular in the 2000s time period. My favorite was the jazz version of Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey. It fits with the main plot driver of the movie, love, and still relates to both the 1920s and 2000s time periods. Another favorite was the use of Crazy in Love by Jay-Z. It was a shocker to hear it start playing in the beginning, and when it began to mix with the jazzy music of the 20s it was strange but it worked. Risky move but well paid off, especially as the movie made its way into the party

Get Access