4 Sociopathic-Villains out of 4
Based on a best-selling thriller written by Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl is a David Fincher-directed mystery-thriller that asks a simple question: What happened to Amazing Amy? The film opens on the morning of July 5 as Nick Dunne (as in “done”) discovers that his wife of five years has somehow disappeared. In her place is a scene of violence in their living room, and more than a few signs that Amy is certainly not well. The film tells its visual story from Nick’s perspective, while Amy’s diary narrates her point-of-view. We get to see both perspectives onscreen, and the final picture we get is largely disjointed, with many events that are entirely incongruous with Nick and Amy’s assertions.
Nick and Amy, much like their literary counterparts, are unreliable. The audience can’t trust their accounts, and as we slowly watch their loving marriage fall apart in flashback, we quickly realize that something is wrong with Nick, with Amy, or with both of them.
As Nick, Ben Affleck plays a role he’s never quite carried before. Nick’s not a “bad guy,” but because his recollection varies so wildly with his wife’s, he becomes incredibly untrustworthy extremely quickly. Amy doesn’t fare much better. Played by Rosamund Pike, Amy is utterly unlikeable, giving off the kind of pretentious Ivy League air that audiences more than love-to-hate. That she disappears so suddenly, and that her diary implies she’s the kind of icy-blonde Hitchcock would have tortured, only adds to the long list of reasons not to believe her testimony.
There’s much to be said about the film’s casting. Each actor fills their role with a level of care and gravity that only comes from a perfect emotional connection with a character. Resonant is a word I would use to describe Gone Girl. The characters resonate with the audience, and each emotional beat is a hit we feel personally. Affleck and Pike are masterful in their roles, but Carrie Coon as Nick’s sister Margo, and Tyler Perry as Johnnie Cochran-like defence attorney Tanner Bolt are also spectacular to watch.
Gillian Flynn wrote the film’s screenplay herself, and her skill as a writer is undeniable. Gone Girl is perfectly structured, with each layer leading to more questions and confusion. Her writing refuses to condescend, and character, setting, tone, and mood all coalesce into a gratifying cocktail of mystery and intrigue. The way she makes the film’s already considerable runtime feel even longer without sacrificing a single moment of interest is certainly impressive. I was glued from the beginning through to the end.
There’s an undeniable air of uncertainty surrounding Gone Girl. David Fincher’s usual minimalistic style is on glorious display, and his love for dialogue-laden scenes is never hidden. His unusual framing techniques, in which he makes would-be meaningful sequences almost entirely arbitrary, work well with a film such is this.
Returning to work with Fincher is Jeff Cronenweth, whose cinematography blends with Fincher’s directing. Colours are saturated, and the sickly-green colour associated with a Fincher film makes several reappearances here. Cronenweth and Fincher clearly understand each other, and their complimentary styles only serve to enhance each individual scene. Simplicity is a quality lost in today’s films, and in an age when directors insist on loading every scene with as much detail as possible, it’s not just impressive, but legendary, that Fincher is able to tell so much with so little.
I must make mention of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ contributions to the film’s soundtrack. I will be brief: Gone Girl is nothing without Reznor and Ross’s ambient, eclectic, human, demonic, and powerful music. In our attention to visual stimuli, we often neglect auditory factors. What we rarely realize is how important music is to making a scene stand out. I state, without hesitation, that Reznor and Ross helped make this film a masterpiece.
At times a love story, at times a critique of modern journalism, and always a pure manipulation of the viewers’ expectations, Gone Girl is an amazing movie. I loved this film. I loved every moment of its manic attention to detail. I loved the way it played with my beliefs and experience. I loved the way it took Hitchcock, King, and Poe and subverted their tropes and ideas. Simply put, I loved Gone Girl.