Although I must confess I have not read Gone Girl, I did see the film adaptation and have since read the compendium of recent think pieces that, when summed, probably rival Gillian Flynn’s novel in page count. In the age of online journalism, every website raced to publish an opinion as soon as the movie was released. Was it “the most feminist mainstream movie in years,” as Vox described it, or did director David Fincher reduce the story to another example of modern misogyny?
Unfortunately, this black and white reporting mirrors the worst moments of Gone Girl, the moments where Gillian Flynn (who also wrote the screenplay) feels compelled to spell everything out to the viewer. Despite being one of what I found to be the most interesting and overlooked relationships of the movie, Nick (Ben Affleck) and his twin sister Margo (Carrie Coon) almost ruin the credibility of their relationship when she reassures him, “of course I’m with you, Nick. I’ve been with you since before we were born.” The usual lack of this kind of obvious sentimentality makes Margo more interesting than many of the other characters in the film.
Surprisingly to someone new to the Gone Girl conversation, much of the media’s discourse has revolved around a brief voiceover monologue, where the main character, Amy (Rosamund Pike), breaks from the narrative of the film to attack the archetype of the “cool girl,” who she declares, is a “hot, brilliant, funny woman who adores football, poker, dirty jokes, and burping.” Amy asserts every woman wants to be this “cool girl” but no one really is, and her own aspiration to fulfill this role is part of what ruined her marriage.
The tension between Amy and Margo is an interesting subtheme that remains largely unexplored throughout the movie. Margo remains by Nick’s side, even when she makes her disappointment in his affair well known. The movie practically opens with Nick visiting Margo at their shared bar and complaining about Amy. Margo is always ready to supply Nick with alcohol and flips off the paparazzi in an effort to support him. As far as “cool girls” go, Margo seems to come pretty close to Amy’s description. The film directs Amy’s diatribe, however, entirely at Nick’s mistress and a few unknown women in cars, which seems like a comfortable escape from the movie’s more nuanced themes.
The melodrama of Gone Girl reflects the complicated nature of real relationships and the power struggles they involve. Taking Amy’s “cool girl” speech at face value or reducing any part of Gone Girl to “the most feminist” or “the most misogynistic” seems counterproductive. Gone Girl exists in a confusing contemporary world, a place where everyone is both a victim and a villain.