Introduction
A film adaptation of a literary work can rarely capture all the details of the original text, and that is what happened in Baz Luhrmann’s version of The Great Gatsby. In the scene of Myrtle’s party, the director modifies and exaggerates the prosperity of 1920s America in order to give the work a more contemporary twist. Luhrmann’s film adds colorful details to the party scene but removes Nick’s interactions with Mr. McKee. While Luhrmann’s film incorporates cultural appropriation of Black music during the Harlem Renaissance, it leaves out a critical moment that implies Nick’s queerness, as indicated in the book.
Myrtle’s Party in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Book
The party scene at Myrtle’s takes up almost the entire second chapter of Fitzgerald’s book. The apartment is described as follows: “a small living room, a small dining room, a small bedroom, and a bath” (Fitzgerald 29). The author also emphasizes the room’s inconvenience and congestion: “a set of tapestried furniture entirely too large for it.” (Fitzgerald 29). The party scene in the book is necessary to reveal the relationship of the characters, their dislike for each other, and the contradictions between married couples. Jazz music is not mentioned in the scene; it does not contain any musical framing at all.
The critical moment is the interaction between Nick and Mackey at the very end of the chapter. The invitation for lunch ends with an ambiguous description: “I was standing beside his bed and he was sitting up between the sheets, clad in his underwear, with a great portfolio in his hands” (Fitzgerald 38). This reference is critical to understanding Nick’s personality and rethinking his sexuality.
Myrtle’s Party in Baz Luhrmann’s Film Adaptation
Myrtle’s party scene takes place almost at the very beginning of the film and takes up 6 minutes of screen time. Most notable is the depiction of the apartment, which is entirely in heavy red color (The Great Gatsby 00:17:00). Tom and Myrtle are not embarrassed by the incoming guests to have sexual intercourse, which is emphasized by the sound framing (The Great Gatsby 00:18:00). Nick shares a kiss with Catherine and agrees to take an obscure pill. The scene is very exalted: alcohol flows, champagne corks fly, and the characters throw pillow feathers.
The critical moment is the meeting between Nick from the past and Nick from the present, who is looking at his own memories. He looks from the window and sees the man playing the trumpet before looking at the street below. He sees a man down on the street, Nick himself, staring up at the party. The two Nicks stare at one another, as Nick muses, “I was within and without” (The Great Gatsby 00:22:00).
This scene is necessary to exaggerate Nick’s powers of observation. The musical setting is notable: “A black man, embodying the energy of the Harlem Renaissance, plays a passionate trumpet solo on the fire escape outside an apartment, overlaid by Jay-Z and Kanye West’s ‘Who Gon Stop Me’ (Vogel 31). The musical reference is necessary to convey the atmosphere of the 1920s, the jazz era, created by predominantly black musicians.
Similarities Between the Book and the Film
The scene of Myrtle’s party is conveyed quite thoroughly in the film, repeating some of the dialogue lines and illustrating the relationship between the characters. Myrtle’s character is described similarly: “Jazz…is associated with Myrtle’s provocative actions and desire for wealth“ (MacLean 129). The book describes this trait with repetitive talk about money. Tom is presented as an equally controversial character; he does not hide his relationship with Myrtle and spanks her in public.
The atmosphere of the 1920s is presented as a contrast in both works; the characters drink during Prohibition, and emptiness is hidden behind an idle lifestyle. Both works emphasize Tom’s relationship with other people: in the film, he beats Mrs. Wilson in the face, while breaking her nose in the book. The characters appear to be idly spending time drinking alcohol, empty talking, and quarreling, which is clearly shown in the text and in the adaptation.
Differences Between the Book and the Film
The director brings many personal touches to The Great Gatsbyin an attempt to modernize the book while capturing the atmosphere of 1920s New York. The addition of a black musician to the film emphasizes that the music that became a symbol of the 1920s was part of black culture. This addition makes the film more contextual and descriptive, despite the fact that there is no mention of a black musician in the book.
However, the film presents a much more exalted version of events, with drug use, sexualized interactions, and provocative behavior than is portrayed in the book. The main omission of the director is the absence of the final scene between Mr. McKee and Nick. “In the novel…Nick leaves with a man named McKee…“ This is followed by suggestive ellipses and a fragmented account of the rest of the night (Vogel 34). Fitzgerald includes a scene with Mr. McKee to hint at Nick’s bisexuality, and adding that scene to the film would have allowed the character to be fleshed out more fully.
Conclusion
The film adaptation of The Great Gatsby is successful because it correctly interprets the atmosphere of the 1920s. The director’s addition of a scene with a black musician highlights the jazz era created by part of the black culture. However, the film removes from the narrative an essential detail of Nick’s continuation of the evening with Mr. McKee, eliminating Fitzgerald’s hints at the narrator’s bisexuality. If this detail were added to the film, the character’s identity would be revealed in more detail.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Prague, DigiCat, 2022.
MacLean, Tessa. “Preserving Utopia: Musical Style in Baz Luhrmann’s ‘The Great Gatsby.’” Literature/Film Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 2, 2016, pp. 120 – 31. JSTOR, Web.
The Great Gatsby. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2013.
Vogel, Joseph. “‘Civilization’s Going to Pieces’: The Great Gatsby, Identity, and Race, From the Jazz Age to the Obama Era.” The F. Scott Fitzgerald Review, vol. 13, no. 1, 2015, pp. 29 – 54. JSTOR. Web.