From Page to Screen: The Great Gatsby — Novel (1925) & Film (2013)

 From Page to Screen:The Great Gatsby- Novel (1925) & Film (2013)

This blog is written as a task assigned by the head of the Department of English (MKBU), Prof. and Dr. Dilip Barad Sir. Here is the link to the professor's research article for background reading: Click here.

Film Details:

Theatrical release poster

• Title: The Great Gatsby

• Release Year: 2013

• Director: Baz Luhrmann

• Screenplay: Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce

• Based on: The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald

• Genre: Romantic drama, period film

• Country: United States

• Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

• Running time: 142 minutes

• Budget: $105 million

• Box office: $353.6 million

Music:

• Original score: Craig Armstrong

• Executive producer (soundtrack): Jay-Z

Main Cast

• Leonardo DiCaprio: Jay Gatsby

• Carey Mulligan: Daisy Buchanan

• Tobey Maguire: Nick Carraway

• Joel Edgerton: Tom Buchanan

• Isla Fisher: Myrtle Wilson

• Jason Clarke: George Wilson

Cultural Context:

The film was released during a time of global economic anxiety after the 2008 financial crisis. Luhrmann intentionally uses excess, spectacle, and modern music to draw parallels between:

• 1920s capitalism
• 21st-century consumer culture

Thus, the film is not just historical it is contemporary in critique.

Famous Line:

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

 

Here is Infographic to understand the difference easily:

Brief Summary of Novel: 

The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald is set in the Jazz Age of the 1920s and is narrated by Nick Carraway, a young man from the Midwest who moves to West Egg, Long Island, to work in the bond business. Nick becomes fascinated by his wealthy and mysterious neighbour Jay Gatsby, who is known for hosting extravagant parties. Despite the crowds and luxury, Gatsby appears lonely, and many rumours circulate about his past and the source of his wealth.

As Nick grows closer to Gatsby, he learns that Gatsby’s life is shaped by his deep love for Daisy Buchanan, Nick’s cousin. Gatsby and Daisy had been in love before the war, but Daisy later married Tom Buchanan, a rich and arrogant man from old money. Nick arranges a meeting between Gatsby and Daisy, and they soon begin an affair. Gatsby believes that he can repeat the past and recreate the happiness he once shared with Daisy.

Conflict arises when Tom becomes suspicious of Gatsby and confronts him in New York. During this confrontation, Tom exposes Gatsby’s criminal background and the illegal means through which he acquired his wealth. Daisy, torn between love and security, fails to choose Gatsby and retreats into the comfort of her marriage. At the same time, Tom’s affair with Myrtle Wilson reveals the moral corruption and class divisions within society.

The story ends in tragedy when Daisy accidentally kills Myrtle while driving Gatsby’s car, and Gatsby takes responsibility for the accident. Myrtle’s husband George Wilson, misled into believing Gatsby was responsible, murders Gatsby and then kills himself. Daisy and Tom leave without facing any consequences, while Nick, disillusioned by the emptiness and carelessness of the rich, returns to the Midwest, concluding that the American Dream is an illusion corrupted by wealth and materialism.

Introduction: The Persistent Green Light and the Challenge of Fidelity

When F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby in 1925, he was not merely writing a story of unrequited love; he was capturing a "Truth Event" a term used by philosopher Alain Badiou to describe a radical rupture in the status quo. Fitzgerald’s novel documented the birth of the Modern Age, the death of the pastoral American Dream, and the rise of a "moral rubberiness" brought on by the industrial excess of the post-WWI era.

Fast forward to film The Great Gatsby (2013), and director Baz Luhrmann attempted to translate this elusive prose into a "Red Curtain" spectacle. The result was a polarizing, hyper-stylized, and sonically jarring interpretation that forced audiences to ask: Can a 21st-century film ever truly be "faithful" to a 1920s text? In this exhaustive exploration, we analyze the adaptation through the lenses of narrative framing, cinematic poetry, adaptation theory, and the socio-political context of two distinct centuries.

Part I: The Frame Narrative and the "Writerly" Text

1. The Sanitarium Device: Pathologizing the Narrator

Luhrmann’s most controversial structural addition is the framing of Nick Carraway in the "Perkins Sanitarium," diagnosed with “morbid alcoholism,” “insomnia,” “anxiety,” and “depression.” In the novel, Nick’s writing is an implicit, retrospective process he is a "perpendicular" narrator, a man who claims to be "within and without."

Externalizing the Internal Monologue:

• Film, by its nature, struggles with the first-person introspection that defines the novel. By showing Nick physically typing the words "The Great Gatsby" on a typewriter, Luhrmann provides a literal "cause and effect" for the narration. It explains the presence of the voiceover not as an abstract literary device, but as a clinical necessity for Nick’s recovery. This externalization makes the act of writing a visual "anchor" for the audience, grounding the dreamlike sequences of West Egg in a tangible, albeit tragic, reality.

The Moral Compass vs. The Patient:

• However, this framing arguably "pathologizes" Nick. In the book, Nick is our moral compass the self-proclaimed "only honest person" he has ever known. By making him a clinical patient, the film shifts the viewer's perception: is his judgment a sober social observation, or is it a symptom of his mental collapse? Scholars note that this "gloomy depression" reduces Nick's agency. He is no longer the man who chooses to leave the East because of its moral vacuity; he is a man who is forced into a sanitarium because he cannot cope with it. This addition arguably reduces the novel's complexity from a biting social critique to the rambling of a broken man seeking catharsis.

2. The "Cinematic Poem" and Floating Text

Luhrmann describes his technique of superimposing Fitzgerald’s actual prose over the screen as "poetic glue." We see this most prominently during the introduction of the Valley of Ashes, where the letters of the text drift across the screen like the soot they describe.

Bridge or Trap?

• On one level, this technique honors the "writerly" nature of the source material. It reminds the viewer that the film is an adaptation of a specific, revered set of words. It attempts to bridge the gap between literature and film by treating the prose as a visual element.

• However, critics argue this creates a "noble literalism." By showing the words on screen, Luhrmann may inadvertently "reify" the prose turning fluid, suggestive language into a static object. This "quotational quality" can distance the viewer from the diegetic reality of the film. Instead of feeling the heat and the grime of the Valley of Ashes through the acting and cinematography, we are told how to feel by the floating text. It traps the film in a state of being a "motion book," where the director seems afraid to let the visual medium stand on its own two feet.

Part II: Adaptation Theory and "Fidelity"

1. Hutcheon’s "Knowing" vs. "Unknowing" Audience

Linda Hutcheon, a titan of adaptation studies, defines adaptation as "repetition without replication." She suggests that an adaptation must function for two distinct groups: the "knowing" audience (who has read the book) and the "unknowing" audience (who has not).

The Omission of Henry Gatz and the Social Critique:

• Luhrmann’s film drastically alters the ending by omitting Gatsby's father, Henry Gatz, and the sparse, pathetic funeral procession. In the novel, the funeral is the ultimate indictment of the Jazz Age. It highlights the transactional nature of Gatsby’s "friends" thousands attended his parties, but only Nick, the "Owl-Eyed" man, and a few servants attend his burial.

• By omitting this and focusing entirely on Nick’s singular devotion, Luhrmann shifts the genre from a social critique of class and American vacuity toward a "Tragic Romance." This satisfies the "unknowing" audience’s desire for a hero/villain narrative where Gatsby is a misunderstood martyr of love. However, for the "knowing" audience, this omission "softens" the blow. It removes the cold, hard isolation that Fitzgerald intended, replacing a critique of the American Dream with a celebration of a "Great" individual.

2. Alain Badiou and the "Truth Event"

Using the philosophy of Alain Badiou, one can argue that Luhrmann was faithful not to the text, but to the "Truth Event"—the rupture caused by the 1920s.

The Soundtrack and Intersemiotic Translation:

• Luhrmann famously used a soundtrack produced by Jay-Z, featuring Hip-Hop and modern R&B. To a historical purist, this is a betrayal. However, using the concept of "intersemiotic translation," Luhrmann argues that Jazz in 1922 was the Hip-Hop of its day it was dangerous, scandalous, urban, and "black music" that terrified the established elite like Tom Buchanan.

• If Luhrmann had used authentic 1920s Jazz, it would sound like "nostalgia" or "elevator music" to a 2013 audience. By using Hip-Hop, he forces the modern viewer to feel the same adrenaline, cultural friction, and "moral rubberiness" that Fitzgerald’s contemporaries felt. In this sense, the anachronism is an act of "fidelity" to the energy of the novel, even if it betrays the historical specificity.

Part III: Characterization and Performance

1. Gatsby as Romantic Hero vs. Criminal

The novel gradually peels back the layers of Jay Gatsby. He is a bootlegger, a fraud, and a man whose "extraordinary gift for hope" is inextricably linked to his shady dealings with Meyer Wolfsheim.

The "Red Curtain" Softening:

• In the film, Leonardo DiCaprio portrays Gatsby with a vulnerable, almost boyish intensity. Luhrmann "softens" Gatsby’s criminal edge by deleting or recontextualizing scenes. For example, the phone calls from Detroit and Philadelphia which in the book clearly link Gatsby to a massive bond fraud are framed in the film more as "business interruptions" to his pursuit of Daisy.

• The "Red Curtain" style, with its visual splendor and theatricality, turns Gatsby into a victim of circumstance rather than a victim of his own delusions. The film prioritizes the "incorruptible dream" over the "corruption" that funded it. Consequently, the critique of the "corrupted dream" is often overwhelmed by the visual beauty of the "dreamer," potentially misleading the audience into seeing Gatsby as a pure hero rather than a tragic, flawed figure.

2. Daisy Buchanan: Reconstructing the Object of Desire

In the novel, Daisy is famously "careless." She is a woman who "smashes things up" and retreats back into her money. Most tellingly, she is a distant mother, viewing her child more as a decorative object than a human being.

Maintaining the Romantic Plausibility:

• To make Gatsby’s obsession plausible for a 2013 audience, Luhrmann strips Daisy of some of her more alienating qualities. The scene where she introduces her daughter, Pammy, is drastically shortened. By reducing her "lack of maternal instinct," the film makes her appear more like a "damsel in distress" trapped in a marriage with a monster (Tom). This reconstruction helps the audience root for Gatsby, but it strips Daisy of her agency and her complexity. In the novel, Daisy is a participant in the "careless" upper class; in the film, she is often reduced to the "object" that Gatsby is trying to win, maintaining the romantic hero trope at the expense of a nuanced female character.

Part IV: Visual Style and Socio-Political Context

1. The "Red Curtain" Style and the Party Scene

Luhrmann’s "Red Curtain" philosophy involves heightened artifice and theatricality. During the party scenes, the camera uses "vortex" movements and rapid-fire editing to simulate the intoxication of the era.

Critique or Celebration?

• Fitzgerald’s prose regarding the parties is often saturated with a sense of "emptiness" and "ghostliness." Luhrmann, however, fills the screen with such kinetic energy and 3D depth that the critique of "orgiastic" wealth is often lost. Does the 3D technology function to critique consumerism, or does it inadvertently celebrate it? By making the parties look like the ultimate 21st-century nightclub experience, the film risks becoming the very thing Fitzgerald was mocking: a hollow display of wealth designed to distract from a lack of purpose.

2. Contextualizing the American Dream (1925 vs. 2013)

The 2013 film was released shortly after the 2008 global financial crisis. Luhrmann has stated that the story’s relevance lies in the "moral rubberiness" of Wall Street the same culture of greed that led to the Great Depression and the 2008 crash.

The "Green Light" in a Post-2008 World:

• In the film, the "Green Light" and the "Valley of Ashes" are starkly contrasted. The Green Light represents the "hustle"—the relentless pursuit of "more." Following the 2008 crisis, this pursuit is seen through a more cynical lens. The film emphasizes the impossibility of the dream (the light receding into the fog) more than the book does. While the book ends with a philosophical meditation on time, the film ends with a visual indictment of a system where the "Tom Buchanans" of the world survive while the "Gatsbys" and "Wilsons" are discarded.

Part V: Creative Response - The Plaza Hotel Scene

Scenario: The Scriptwriter’s Decision

• As a scriptwriter tasked with adapting the "Plaza Hotel" confrontation, I am faced with a choice: Do I keep Gatsby's violent outburst (where he nearly strikes Tom), or do I keep him composed as he is in the novel?

The Justification:

• In this adaptation, I would choose to keep the outburst. While this is a departure from the "fidelity" of the book's specific action, it is an act of fidelity to the medium. In prose, Fitzgerald can describe the "dead dream" and the "cracking" of Gatsby's facade through internal monologue and subtle shifts in Nick’s perception. On screen, the audience needs a "visual beat" to understand that the "mask" has finally slipped.

By having Gatsby nearly strike Tom, the film visually "outs" him. It confirms Tom’s accusation that Gatsby is a "common swindler." This moment of "raw, lower-class anger" provides the dramatic tension necessary for a cinematic climax. It prioritizes the "Truth" of the character’s internal collapse over the literal "facts" of the book’s dialogue, proving that sometimes, to be faithful to a story's heart, you must change its actions.

Conclusion:

Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby is a "remix" of a classic. It utilizes 21st-century tools from 3D technology to Hip-Hop to attempt to capture the same "cultural rupture" that Fitzgerald documented in 1925. Whether it succeeds as a "faithful" adaptation depends on your definition of fidelity. If fidelity is a word-for-word replication, the film fails. But if fidelity is the ability to make a modern audience feel the same adrenaline, heartbreak, and moral vertigo that readers felt in the 1920s, then Luhrmann’s "Red Curtain" spectacle may be the most "truthful" adaptation we have.

In the end, we are all like Nick Carraway patients in the sanitarium of history, trying to write our way back to a "Green Light" that has already vanished behind us.

Here is Sir's Presentation upon How faithful is Luhrmann's film adaption to the original novel:

References:

• Barad, Dilip. (2026). Worksheet: Critical Analysis of Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby (2013). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/399824391_Worksheet_Critical_Analysis_of_Baz_Luhrmann's_The_Great_Gatsby_2013. 

• Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott). “The Great Gatsby.” The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Great Gatsby, 25 Dec. 2025, www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/64317/pg64317-images.html.

• The Great Gatsby. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, Warner Bros., 2013.

Thank you!!