The Great Gatsby: 5 Changes From The Book That Worked (And 5 That Didn't)
3. Removing Carraway's Romance With Jordan Baker
After I walked out of the movie theater, I had a sneaking suspicion that the movie had forgotten to show me something. It was only later that I realized the romance between Carraway and Jordan Baker had all but been completely left out. But the fact that it took me a few hours to realize probably indicates that it didn't really need to be in there. One could argue that Carraway's feelings for Jordan are the only elements in the book that really define him as a character and allow us to get to know him outside of his thoughts on Gatsby, and occasional musings about his past. Because the movie leaves all this out, we never get the kind of insight into Carraway that we do about Gatsby. Moreover, Jordan Baker starts to look utterly pointless other than as a plot device to throw between Carraway and Gatsby. But that's okay. As I mentioned before, changes in favor of a coherent narrative are good changes, and this is one of those cases. The removal of this side romance allows us to focus on the main romance between Gatsby and Daisy, which has its own set of problems (As I'll mention later) but is the whole point of Luhrmann's approach. A book can afford to go in as many directions as it wants, and show us all kinds of different relationships, but in a movie the narrative needs to be focused on a particular idea, or set of ideas. If not it becomes directionless, and the audience is prone to lost interest. Honestly the Carraway romance didn't seem to matter in the book that much anyway, and I could easily see audiences watching it and getting restless in their chairs. Jordan does provide Carraway the only link to New York that compells him to consider staying after Gatsby's death, which could be considered relevant. But the ending is really about Carraway and Gatsby. To then throw in his love for Jordan and reluctance to leave her would distract from the former, more important relationship. Luhrmann was wise to do away with it. The only major loss is that Jordan's role is underdeveloped, and she starts to look like window dressing. But that's what the extended edition Blu-ray is for.