A couple of weeks ago I noticed that our home library - that has hundreds of books - included a copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel 'The Great Gatsby'. I noticed the book on our bookshelf and thought that perhaps I should give it a chance and read it.
After all, even though I haven't been reading books that much lately, I thought that it was time to pick up on that hobby again. The novel would be a quick read anyway (it has 150 pages) and I thought that I could perhaps watch the film adaptation later too.
Having now read the original novel and having also seen the latest film adaptation (that stars Leonardo DiCaprio) I have to say that I wasn't really impressed with either the book or the film. Both of them left a lot to be desired and were disappointing if I'm being honest here.
So when it comes to Fitzgerald's 'Great Gatsby', one of the biggest problems with this 'tale about the mysterious millionaire' is that there isn't much of a story to tell. There isn't a properly structured drama or character arcs that we could actually care about.
What this means in practice is that when it comes to the original book version and its story, the story doesn't even begin until we reach its last fifty pages. Before that, all the book does is describe some 'upper class' parties that don't really amount to much.
What makes this approach so bad story-wise is that since nothing meaningful happens during these earlier pages, the characters don't get a chance to develop properly. We don't get any of those crucial character defining moments that matter (character = plot).
Indeed, in the book version we don't get to know anything meaningful about Jay Gatsby and his *mysterious* background that we're supposed to care about. The character is so underdeveloped and one-dimensional that you just don't get to invest to him at all.
In contrast, the reason that movie version works at least a bit better is that it at least tries to give us some of those character beats earlier. The movie gives us bits about Gatsby's background that makes the film more plausible (like his vulnerability - not in the book).
At the same time, just because the movie is structurally a bit better and handles exposition better than the book, that doesn't mean that the film works that well as a whole. There are still tons of problems with both the book and the film version.
Indeed, among other things, one of the worst things about both the book and the movie has to do with its main character Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire). As the narrator, he doesn't contribute anything to the story and all he does is passively follow the rest.
Not surprisingly, once we - in the final third of the book / film finally get to the 'dramatic' moments in the story, things don't really get much better either. The stuff that happens in both versions comes out of nowhere and there is no natural build up to anything.
Indeed, especially once the *car accident* happens, all I could think was that the event was nothing more than a desperate 'deux ex machina'. There's no build up to it (including the forced fatal aftermath) and the whole thing feels contrived and convoluted.
In that sense, when I think about 'The Great Gatsby' as a whole, it's pretty clear that just because a book might have a great reputation, that doesn't always mean that much. There's no guarantee that it's 'objectively' speaking well written and that its story works.
After all, even though a lot of so called 'classics' actually are worth their praise, you still need to be cautious about them. You need judge these books based on their actual storytelling merit and not give them a pass just because times were different back then.
In that sense, in the end, if you're in a position to make a movie about a well regarded 'classic' novel, you should definitely make sure that it has a story that works. You should first make certain that its reputation is earned and not based on some other qualities.
After all, even though classics can be well made, especially in the case of 'The Great Gatsby' (ranked #2 book of all time in the U.S) this is just not true. You shouldn't be thinking that its readable prose makes it instantly great and awesome.
On the contrary, from an objective perspective, there are simply too many flaws in the book. These flaws, like its bland characters, bad structure and lack of story are serious and are the real reason why 'The Great Gatsby's' film adaptations have never really worked.
Having now read the original novel and having also seen the latest film adaptation (that stars Leonardo DiCaprio) I have to say that I wasn't really impressed with either the book or the film. Both of them left a lot to be desired and were disappointing if I'm being honest here.
So when it comes to Fitzgerald's 'Great Gatsby', one of the biggest problems with this 'tale about the mysterious millionaire' is that there isn't much of a story to tell. There isn't a properly structured drama or character arcs that we could actually care about.
What this means in practice is that when it comes to the original book version and its story, the story doesn't even begin until we reach its last fifty pages. Before that, all the book does is describe some 'upper class' parties that don't really amount to much.
What makes this approach so bad story-wise is that since nothing meaningful happens during these earlier pages, the characters don't get a chance to develop properly. We don't get any of those crucial character defining moments that matter (character = plot).
Indeed, in the book version we don't get to know anything meaningful about Jay Gatsby and his *mysterious* background that we're supposed to care about. The character is so underdeveloped and one-dimensional that you just don't get to invest to him at all.
In contrast, the reason that movie version works at least a bit better is that it at least tries to give us some of those character beats earlier. The movie gives us bits about Gatsby's background that makes the film more plausible (like his vulnerability - not in the book).
At the same time, just because the movie is structurally a bit better and handles exposition better than the book, that doesn't mean that the film works that well as a whole. There are still tons of problems with both the book and the film version.
Indeed, among other things, one of the worst things about both the book and the movie has to do with its main character Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire). As the narrator, he doesn't contribute anything to the story and all he does is passively follow the rest.
Not surprisingly, once we - in the final third of the book / film finally get to the 'dramatic' moments in the story, things don't really get much better either. The stuff that happens in both versions comes out of nowhere and there is no natural build up to anything.
Indeed, especially once the *car accident* happens, all I could think was that the event was nothing more than a desperate 'deux ex machina'. There's no build up to it (including the forced fatal aftermath) and the whole thing feels contrived and convoluted.
In that sense, when I think about 'The Great Gatsby' as a whole, it's pretty clear that just because a book might have a great reputation, that doesn't always mean that much. There's no guarantee that it's 'objectively' speaking well written and that its story works.
After all, even though a lot of so called 'classics' actually are worth their praise, you still need to be cautious about them. You need judge these books based on their actual storytelling merit and not give them a pass just because times were different back then.
In that sense, in the end, if you're in a position to make a movie about a well regarded 'classic' novel, you should definitely make sure that it has a story that works. You should first make certain that its reputation is earned and not based on some other qualities.
After all, even though classics can be well made, especially in the case of 'The Great Gatsby' (ranked #2 book of all time in the U.S) this is just not true. You shouldn't be thinking that its readable prose makes it instantly great and awesome.
On the contrary, from an objective perspective, there are simply too many flaws in the book. These flaws, like its bland characters, bad structure and lack of story are serious and are the real reason why 'The Great Gatsby's' film adaptations have never really worked.
