In the novel The Great Gatsby, one of my favorite scenes is in chapter five when Nick sets up a tea date for Gatsby and Daisy, seeing each other for the first time in years. Here is the passage from the book:
"For half a minute there wasn't a sound. Then from the living-room I heard a sort of choking murmur and part of a laugh, followed by Daisy's voice on a clear artificial note: "I certainly am awfully glad to see you again."
A pause; it endured horribly. I had nothing to do in the hall, so I went into the room.
Gatsby, his hands still in his pockets, was reclining against the mantelpiece in a strained counterfeit of perfect ease, even of boredom. His head leaned back so far that it rested against the face of a defunct mantelpiece clock, and from this position his distraught eyes stared down at Daisy, who was sitting, frightened but graceful, on the edge of a stiff chair.
"We've met before," muttered Gatsby. His eyes glanced momentarily at me, and his lips parted with an abortive attempt at a laugh. Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of his head, whereupon he turned and caught it with trembling fingers, and set it back in place. Then he sat down, rigidly, his elbow on the arm of the sofa and his chin in his hand."
"I'm sorry about the clock," he said.
My own face had now assumed a deep tropical burn. I couldn't muster up a single commonplace out of the thousand in my head. "It's an old clock," I told them idiotically. I think we all believed for a moment that it had smashed in pieces on the floor."
This passage in the newer version (2013) translated in the film beautifully because of the commitment of literal details from the book. The director, Baz Luhrmann, portrayed this entire scene right down to Gatsby being terribly nervous that caused him to knock over Nick's clock. It honestly showed how deep Gatsby's feelings were for Daisy. Leo did an amazing job becoming him, showing the audience that he was human and not always this 'cool, snave man,' but he had emotions and were not afraid to show them. Baz showed another side of Gatsby that people (readers) hadn't seen before: insecure, tense, shy and obsessed.
Compared to the old version (1974), there was a little more adapting of Daisy and Gatsby meeting; like him not knocking over the clock or showing any type of real emotion (nervousness) during and before tea. He's too cool, calm and unruffled that didn't truly express Gatsby's character. Along with the 2013 version, Baz took the entire scene of Gatsby leaving Nick's home in the rain only to come back soaking wet, messy and terrified of how the situation would play out. The 1974 version didn't incorporate that in the film and I felt that seriously took away from the movie and Gatsby's character. I felt like he was a robot, an handsome robot that only had one trick.
If he was a little more emotional and if there were less adaptation to the film, the movie would have been a bit more enjoyable in my opinion. I didn't like the 1974 version as much as the 2013 because I couldn't relate to any of the characters and there were many vital parts that were sadly left out. Baz did the complete opposite, took the whole passage above and translated it perfectly to screen.These two versions were similar yet extremely different because of the lack of important literary adaptation and the flow of deeper meaning. But that is film for you and you don't always get your cake and eat it too.
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