Differences between the Novel the Great Gatsby and its Movie

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Differences between the Novel the Great Gatsby and its Movie

The novel The Great Gatsby was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the year 1926. Renowned literature analysts have described this novel as a literary classic. Since it was published, recreation of the novel into a movie has been done severally. A contrast will however be done in relation to the version of the movie that was released by A&E Television Networks in 2000 starring Mira Sorvino and directed by Robert Markowitz. That the basic ideas of the novel were expressed in this version of the movie is undeniably true, however, there are some differences noticeable in the plot of the movie that affect the viewers’ interpretation of the novel. These differences come in various forms including miscasting done by the casting manager during the casting of the characters, misrepresentation of the original plot of the story by the director of the movie in this case being Robert Markowitz and misrepresentation of the character traits of the roles played in the movie. The flaws and the differences together with the recommendations that could deem useful in redeeming this movie are as expounded in the following paragraphs.

To begin with, the idea of Daisy’s voice has been distorted in the movie. The role of Daisy was played by Mira Sorvino. According to the novel, Daisy had a voice that portrayed an exhilarating ripple that could be compared to that of a wild tonic that existed in the rain. Mira Sorvino does not have the right voice. Her voice is both high-pitched and soft whereas the novel describes Daisy’s voice as loud, rich and had the ability to get anyone’s attention. The author also describes Daisy’s voice as sounding like money. The contrast in Daisy’s voice with that of Mira Sorvino creates a fault that is hard to ignore. This is because Daisy’s voice is in the novel described to holding more importance than what she was actually saying. I recommend that the director should have picked a more relevant character. The character’s voice should have matched the one described by the author in the novel so as to avoid distorting the idea of Daisy. The actor chosen to play this role in the movie had a voice that did not portray the characteristics as described by the author in the novel, which is very unacceptable. When casting actors to take up different roles, the director should have ensured that the actor who took up this lead role was flawlessly uptight and was able to deliver the representation of Daisy exactly the way the author had brought out the character in the novel. Acting out novels is majorly aimed at bringing life to the storyline and the characters involved so if this job is not properly done then initial the objective won’t be met.

In addition, the movie poorly represents the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. This relationship is important as the original story focuses on it to build the major thematic concerns and the poetic aspects of the author. The book clearly states that it had been five years since Gatsby had last seen Daisy whereas the movies states that the duration was eight years. The author describes the passion between these two love birds when he showed how Gatsby longed to kiss Daisy again. The kind of the attraction Daisy had is seen to be absolute as he compares the effects of the kiss to his mind to that of the romping mind of God. Indicating that Gatsby had to wait for eight years for this kiss instead of five as indicated in the novel makes him seem crazier than he really is. Another misrepresentation is noted as the movie brings out the relationship as either a fling or as a crazy obsession that Daisy has towards Gatsby which is not the case. The author brings out the relationship as a passionate and a powerful one. This means that the viewer won’t be able to grasp the complexity of this relationship and the director should therefore have strived to bring out the technicalities of the relationship between the two to avoid poor representation of the relationship.

Last but most, the movie fails to bring out the character of Daisy Buchanan as shallow, hurtful and selfish. This character needs to be built so as to enhance the poignancy of the story as it is essential to the plot. The movie focuses its plot on the beauty and charm of Daisy instead of greatly exploring the fact that she is hurtful, shallow and selfish. It is these traits that express the meaning of the novel and if the movie overlooks them then the storyline is both misrepresented and distorted. I recommend that the director should have highlighted these traits in the movie so as to accurately bring out the meaning of the story. Changing the original character traits of the lead role greatly affects the plot development and to some extent changes the story completely. The director should have ensured that Daisy was brought out as hurtful, selfish and shallow so as to pass the message that the author had intended to pass to its audience.

In summary, there are major contrasts depicted in the movie as explained in the above paragraphs. The differences include the variance of Daisy Buchanan’s voice from the author’s description in the novel to that the voice of the character used by the director, the poor representation of the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby by the movie and the movie fails to bring out the character of Daisy Buchanan as shallow, hurtful and selfish and instead focuses on the beauty and charm of this character. As far as bringing life to this novel goes, the movie has managed to confuse that section of the viewers of this movie who have read the novel too. These differences as outlined in the above paragraphs cause a state of confusion as the audience finds it hard to follow through on what exactly goes on in the plot development of the story. From these examples, it is obvious that the movie doesn’t accurately portray the book and just like most of the other novel-turn movies; I would prefer the novel as it is much better.