The 1920s was a time of living large and having a good time. Every person followed the code of the “American Dream.” This meant that the world was full of unlimited resources, opportunities and beauty.People thought that  life would simply get better and better the longer that they lived. However, this is simply fantasy, it is not reality. Some people live their dream and others fail to ever achieve their goals. It is a fact of life that author F. Scott Fitzgerald expressed in his novel The Great Gatsby. This book also enlightens readers of the luxury, scandal, recklessness and excitement of the 1920’s.

           This is a book that juniors read every year, and it teaches a lesson, that life is not fair. To further understand this book, some people need to see a visual representation. Juniors all over the world are in luck. With three different movies based off the book, there are plenty of visual ways to explore some of the depth of The Great Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby(2013): Directed by Baz Luhrmann

      This piece truly emphasizes the exotic, chaotic and alcoholic life that the people of the 1920s would expose themselves to. The parties at the Gatsby mansion are also exactly what I imagined when reading the book. They were expensive over the top events filled with glamour.

Most of the characters are quite accurate, although, this is for all the movies, that Myrtle Wilson is not ugly enough. From mannerisms to subtle character traits, Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire, who plays Nick Carraway, and Joel Edgerton, who plays Tom Buchanan, acted exactly how they should have for their characters.  Carey Mulligan, who plays Daisy Buchanan, was too timid and made Daisy seem too innocent. However, she does act as if she is trapped and viewers can experience the struggles she faces in her complicated love life.

Another element to watch out for in the movie is the fact that some scenes were added in and some minor scenes were taken out, as with any movie. Disregard the scenes with Nick Carraway and his therapist; this is the main addition to the movie. The scenes taken out were very short but do have relevance when learning about the mannerisms of certain characters. This movie also left out two minor characters, Daisy’s daughter and Gatsby’s father, that should not have been taken out of the movie.

For the most part, this movie kept most of the novel’s content and had a cast that brought the novel to life. It is missing some subtle but key moments that are expressed in the novel, like the famous elevator scene (which is only a few paragraphs). One aspect that stuck out that I did not like at all was the modern music laced into the theme. I felt that it was not appropriate for the time period of the movie, nor for the message that was originally conveyed in the novel.

The Great Gatsby(200): Directed by Robert Markowitz

In the 2000 version of The Great Gatsby, there is not as much action and glamor as there was in the most recent movie. This film did depict some things very accurately. But the writers and producers of this movie didn’t have much creativity and did not understand the subtext of the events that played out. Some events that were cut portrayed small but important details about him about Gatsby. For example when he meets Daisy’s daughter. Without these scenes Gatsby did not have any in-depth characteristics for viewers to see. There were a few elements that were well done, for example the scenery at the Buchanan home was nice, but other than that, this movie lacked in exhibiting the extremes of the Anti-American dream.

The casting was utterly terrible. The four main characters were not properly represented in how they looked or how they acted. I could tell they were acting, but I could not feel the characters emotion like I did when reading the novel. Their characterization made the movie feel too slowly paced and boring. Toby Stephens played Gatsby correctly acting wise and did the best job out of all the cast. The only other major actor that did a somewhat appealing role was Paul Rudd as Nick Carraway because he seemed comfortable in the role. The rest of the cast acted as if they knew they were frauds.

Honestly, this movie is hard to watch. Although the scenery and music choice were appealing, the parties were dull, the traumatic events seemed like small squabbles and the emotion was dragged out. It may have kept most of the dialogue and events in, but what really happened and how the characters truly felt and reacted were not represented at all.

The Great Gatsby(1974): Directed by Jack Clayton

This films stars Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. Robert Redford plays the strong wealthy side of Gatsby amazingly. His abundance of luxury items and the beginning scene’s visual of his home and his personal photographs of Daisy express his inner feelings in a nonverbal way. The best aspect of this movie is it does not rely on verbal communication to signify his personality and his obsession for the American Dream. Mia Farrow plays Daisy Buchanan in this film and she fits the look very well. Although Carrier Mulligan does a spectacular job, Farrow is a close second due to her chemistry with Redford in the film. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were together in real life.

This film was more theatrical than the others. That is why I think of this as more of an interpretation of the book than an actual representation of the book. This is because it is not appropriate with the pacing of the novel. In the book, the theatrical element was subtle. It feels like a melodrama and doesn’t focus on events that are to the novel. The book was more about the big turning point events and the lavish spending of Jay Gatsby on his extreme parties. Everything was too quiet, the parties, the action. It was good, but I think it does not fit Fitzgerald’s work.

The technical work was amazing. The soundtrack was filled with either slow or upbeat jazz music. It was important to the theme because it helped bring me into the time period and understand better. The filming was unique to the other films. The parties, although not as extravagant as those in the 2013 version, were very believable. It was like a celebration of life in its fullest. The settings were gorgeous as well, not extravagant but still appropriate.

Even though all these movies have great elements, sadly they can never surmount to Fitzgerald’s writing. You will not pass the test solely on what is in each movie. Juniors should still read the book because it has such deep meaning. In the novel readers understand more character analysis and more of who the Great Gatsby is.