The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald captivates the reader and creates almost an addiction to the novel. I as the reader found it difficult to put down many times throughout the book. Sadly, I did not have the same feelings for the movie's portrayal. In fact, the way I reacted to the movie was almost the exact opposite of how I reacted to the book. Obviously the producer of the movie had created different images in his head than I had created when I read the story.

The primary flaw with the movie is the unrealistic dialogue. Despite the cast of highly acclaimed actors, each conversation seemed staged and unnatural. Daisy's frequent expressions were almost comical, as were the scenes that Tom was supposed to be in a rage. It truly was almost painful to watch parts of this movie.

The movie also lacked a deeper meaning. The clearest theme that the movie presented was that of how money cannot buy happiness. Other important themes, like the difficulty with confronting the truth, or the disillusion of the times, were poorly represented. I concluded the reason being was because these themes were explored within the mind of Nick. In the book, Nick is a slightly dull bystander, who happens to fall into the world of these crazed lovers. But Nick is the reader's link to the truth. He is able to see things, and make sense of them for the reader. The movie does not create such a character for Nick. He is much to boring to focus on, considering Robert Redford plays opposite him as Gatsby. Redford's good looks and far more interesting character are a much more profitable investment. Therefore the viewer is robbed of the many 1920 ideals explored by Fitzgerald.

In all honesty, our group could not even bring ourselves to finishing the movie. The movie droned on and on, and we had a lot of other things to do. Even though I said I did not enjoy the content of this book, I value the many lessons it attempted to relay to the reader. Lessons like the ease of becoming disillusioned with love and money, the dangers of conforming to what others deem as appropriate, or failing to appreciate the natural and good amenities of life. The movie totally fails to teach any of those things. Considering that I did not like the story line, watching ...