Gone Girl

"Whoever took her is bound to bring her back"

Directed by: David Fincher

Released: 2014

Staring: Ben Affleck, Rosamond Pike, Carrie Coon, Neil Patrick Harris, & Tyler Perry

Rated: R

  Misogyny, Murder, Marriage; who better to direct Gillian Flynn's twisted, relavent novel than David Fincher. The master of the modern, dark thriller, Fincher presents a film whose source material mirrors many themes in his 2011 adaptation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Gone Girl is a manipulative roller coaster ride, offering an obvious path to audiences before whisking them down an unexpectedly wicked tunnel. 

  Visually striking, the film's aesthetic (as well as it's score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) screams Fincher. There's no question Fincher was the best choice to bring author Gillian Flynn's complex characters to life on the big screen and who better to pen the screenplay than the author herself. Beautiful visual qualities and haunting score aside, the most important piece to Gone Girl's delightfully dismal puzzle is it's screenplay. Any time a best seller is in adaption, there's a risk of loosing the story's true message and spirit. Flynn adapting her own novel was crucial in developing a successful film. And Gone Girl is one quality film.

  Fincher/Flynn fed this film to the media as a missing persons thriller. Upon first glance, clean and simple, this Scott Peterson-esque drama quickly unravels the mysteries beyond the media frenzy. This is a film both men and women of this generation need to see. This is a film about marriage, what it means to present yourself as someone your not for the happiness of another. This is a film that calls into question how women act for men. How women are treated by men and what they should do about that. I would categorize Gone Girl as a feminist film based on the fact it's one of the few in recent memory that depicts men and women as true equals...for now I'll leave it at that, the second half of my review is a deeper analysis that enters spoiler territory. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED. 

But for now I'll keep it clean.

  The first act is slow, set up, but as soon as that second act sets in, following Amy's "Cool Girl" speech, the game elevates and in it's finale, Gone Girl explodes in a shower of sinister shocks. The the collective gasps, moans and mutters in the theater following the progression of the film literally speak volumes. AUDIENCE REACTION reveals more about a film than any critics review; it's a testament to the film's effectiveness. You didn't like Gone Girl's ending? GOOD. Your reaction, that little burn of annoyance in the center of your chest affirms the film's quality. Great films elicit reaction, uproar...your reaction had nothing to do with media surrounding the director, the actors, or the studio, it's purely rooted in response to the film's story, script and how it was presented on screen and THAT is great screen writing and great filmmaking. There's nothing more satisfying then entering a theater and partaking in a true cinematic experience like Gone Girl. It's films like Gone Girl, ones that create buzz and discussion, that remind me why I love the cinema and the influential media it can be. 

    Assisting Fincher and Flynn on their expertly crafted thriller is a grade-A cast. Main and supporting cast are strong and several surprise with their bold performances. The one complaint I do have regarding the screenplay and film in general is that characters, especially supporting roles played by Tyler Perry and Neil Patrick Harris, aren't given time to be fully fleshed out. The surface and what's just below are there, but what really drives them feels absent. Even the film's focus, Nick Dunne is reduced from the conditioned misogynist he's presented to be in the book. However, the film's runtime already surpassing two and a half hours, I feel it couldn't have been helped and didn't derail the overall effectiveness of the work. 

 

Ben Affleck IS Nick Dunne, for him it's not much of a stretch. The man in search of the "Cool Girl", dreamboat turned douchebag is realistic and believable. The effectiveness of his presence and performance in the film feels more the result of considered casting rather than real, impactful acting. Nick's counter part played by Roseamund Pike however plays the opposite side of that coin. An actress who occasionally pops up on the radar if you watch a considerable amount of British films, it's safe to say Pike isn't a huge presence in American film. One of those rare actresses who understand the effectiveness of subtlety, Pike dominates the screen with her portrayal of Amy Dunne. Those moments of subtlety are interjected with explosions of commanding emotion, making the performance as dynamic as the written character. Scenes between Pike and Affleck build upon tension and eventually erupt into seething exchanges audiences can't help but squirm in response to. 

  The supporting cast of Tyler Perry and Neil Patrick Harris, again not completely developed, were pleasant surprises. Known for very specific characters, the two step outside the walls mainstream media recently boxed them into and play their respective characters quite well. I would have enjoyed observing and learning more about both, a testament to the actors' performances.

  Gone Girl, proves a difficult film to discuss without entering spoiler territory and for that reason I'm breaking my review in half The first a basic look at the film as a whole, spoiler free and the second a deeper analysis of characters and how Fincher/Flynn represented them. So I'll leave yo with this; Gone Girl, an important film, is beautifully directed, expertly written and smartly acted. It'll have you crying out in your seats and wanting more from each character. A series of twists and shocking exchanges between characters make Gone Girl a thriller that's worth watching as soon as possible. 

YOU ARE NOW ENTERING SPOILER TERRITORY, as in I'll be discussing big plot twists that you may NOT want to know if you haven't seen the film and want to be surprised.

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Tumblr enjoyed this film just as much as I did.

  Thank you David Fincher and thank you Gillian Flynn for writing women equally calculating and formidable as men. Gone Girl evolves from enjoyable murder mystery to quality thriller following  Amy's "Cool Girl" speech and the reveal that she is behind her own disappearance. The beauty behind Gone Girl is it's address female conditioning. Conditioning women to perform for men, conditioning women to accept how men treat them, and conditioning women to fear men. One of the most fulfilling moments in the film takes place after Amy's return; as she, the women, tucks Nick into bed his faced is flushed with fear. Flynn creates a female character whose actions are on the same despicable level as the mans. THAT is what's groundbreaking about Gone Girl. 

  

  Directors like Lars Von Trier depict women as villains but never pit them equally against their male counterparts. Antichrist in particular features a female character who wreaks havoc for no other reason than the fact that women are inherently evil and men deserve to be tortured and destroyed. A truly horrible film in it's representation of women. Gone Girl shows that men can be cruel, women can be cruel; both genders are capable of manipulating and and performing for the other. Amy and Nick are represented as equal characters both guilty of horrendous crimes, leaving audiences to discuss who's actions deserve more ridicule. Initially, majority of surrounding audiences reacted with "Wow, what a crazy bitch.", but let's think beyond those primal conclusions. Why such a strong reaction to this female character? 

  Society has been taught to fear women in power, specifically power of their own lives and actions. In the film Amy takes her life into her own hands, plans revenge, plans her own death and finally asks "Why do I have to die?" Yes the discovery of her dead body would be the final nail in her husbands coffin, but ultimately Nick would be crowned the victor. He would have gotten what he always wanted, his wife gone. SO SHE ACTS. Those actions are perceived by many audiences as "crazy" and "selfish" but they're also parallel with Nick's actions during their marriage. Flynn pens some truly wonderful dialog between Nick and Amy explaining the dichotomy of the male and female relationship...primarily the "Cool Girl"speech and this little bit of spice in the film's third act. 

Nick : You fucking cunt!

Amy : I'm the cunt you married. The only time you liked yourself was when you were trying to be someone this cunt might like. I'm not a quitter, I'm that cunt. I killed for you; who else can say that? You think you'd be happy with a nice Midwestern girl? No way, baby! I'm it.

Nick : Fuck. You're delusional. I mean, you're insane, why would you even want this? Yes, I loved you and then all we did was resent each other, try to control each other. We caused each other pain.

Amy : That's marriage. 

  Flynn's prose has a raw edge that makes it all the more relavant and impactful to the audience. Amy Dunne shouldn't be critiqued as a bitch, she should be a hailed as a complex, literary character; capable, strong and sly as the boys. She experiences moments of triumph and moments of failure. Neither Amy nor Nick end up the clear victor, both are condemned to live with the other who made them so completely unhappy...but this time both possess the same portion of command and control. Feminism isn't about hating men, it's about being their equals and Gone Girl, while not completely perfect, represents it more clearly than any film in recent history.