The Great Gatsby, 2013: SPOILER ALERT

      FYI, I read the book and thoroughly analyzed it prior to watching Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgeralds classic novel: The Great Gatsby. 

      Frankly, I absolutely hated this movie. Of course the book was better, but I felt that the 1974 adaptation of The Great Gatsby, directed by Jack Clayton, did a far better job of going by the book. 

      There are three main reasons why I felt like I wasted $11 after watching the newest adaptation of the Great Gatsby:

1. The portrayal of Gatsby and Daisy's relationship was all wrong
2. Nick was suddenly an alcoholic
3. The reason for George killing Gatsby was unclear

      If someone had never read the novel, they would've left the theater thinking that Gatsby actually loved Daisy. But, those who did knew better. In the book, Gatsby became wealthy and threw these lavish parties only to attract Daisy. It can be argued, with evidence, that Gatsby only wanted to obtain Daisy as an object, for what she represented; She represents wealth, which was clear in the popular quote "Her voice is full of money," one of the most important quotes in the novel, WHICH WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE MOVIE. Unfortunately for us, the movie portrayed a Hollywood romance, leaving the audience thinking "Damn, I wish someone loved me like Gatsby loved Daisy." By the way, if anyone ever says that, please smack some sense into them because that relationship was very unhealthy. 

      The film opens with Nick in a sanitarium extremely troubled, who then decides to write a novel about Gatsby. I know that Luhrmann said in an interview that he decided to change up how the story was narrated and hope it would sit well with the audience; it DID NOT sit well with me. The whole scene where Nick gets ridiculously drunk was completely unnecessary  and him turning into an alcoholic was made up and not in anyway significant. 

      In the novel and in the 1974 adaptation, they showed how George Wilson, Myrtles poor husband, decided to kill Gatsby and created great sympathy for his character. In the 2013 adaptation, George suddenly decides to kill Gatsby causing the audience to hate him, but what they didn't know was that he was extremely distressed because of Myrtle's promiscuous actions with Daisy's husband, Tom. George was one of my favorite characters, in my opinion he deserved a better background story in this movie.

    The list goes on and on. Gatsby's mansion looked way too fake, Gatsby's father never came to the funeral (which humanized Gatsby in the novel), etc etc. The acting was good, nothing phenomenal. Thank god the film had a good soundtrack, that's probably what saved it. 

     Right after I watched the movie, a few friends and I went on a rant about how awful the movie was. I've read books before watching their film adaptations, but never have I left the movie theater angry and disappointed. Ugh, $11 dollars is a lot of money for a teenager, enough to eat at least. So I highly recommend to watch the 1974 adaptation of The Great Gatsby to get a more accurate representation of the classic novel. 

      Wait for it to come out on Redbox people.