Major Differences Between the Book and Movie
1. The movie begins with the narrator, Nick Carraway, getting help from a doctor in an institution for various problems such as being an alcoholic and depression. In the movie, Nick tells the story from the institution. However, in the novel, Nick is simply telling the story from the future, not from an institution.
2. Jordan Baker's character is not as developed in the movie as it is in the novel. In the movie, it is learned that Jordan is an athlete, and this is not found out until later in the book. In the novel, Jordan was accused of cheating in golf and has a fiance. In the movie, none of this is shown. Also, the relationship between Nick and Jordan is also not present, and it was in the novel.
3. The party scene described in the book and shown in the movie differ. In both, the parties are large and grand, but the novel gives the feel of a party in the 1920's. In the movie, the parties are given a more modern day twist, with additions such as the rap and pop music heard in the movie.
4. The hotel scene in the movie differs from the novel for one main reason: Gatsby does not grab Tom and yell "shut up" in the novel, but does in the movie. This gives the audience of the movie a reason for Daisy to have doubts about Gatsby, but this doubt is not portrayed in the novel. In the book, Tom simply sends Daisy and Gatsby away. This difference can be seen in the following clip:
5. In Gatsby's death scene, he is shot as he is climbing out of the pool after hearing the phone ring. Gatsby is then fatally shot by Wilson, and dies thinking Daisy was going to run away with him. In reality, the phone call was from Nick, but none of this happened in the book. Gatsby is floating on an air mattress in pool and is fatally shot by Wilson. The difference can be seen in the following clip.
6. In both the movie and the novel, Gatsby's funeral turns out disappointing. Daisy does not show to the funeral in both the movie and the book. However, in the novel, two people show up to Gatsby's funeral: his father and Owl Eyes, who was met earlier in the book in Gatsby's library. In the movie, nobody shows up at all, which adds to the loneliness felt by the audience. This magnitude of loneliness was not felt by the reader, which changes the mood portrayed in the final scenes, as seen in the following clip.