Gone Girl (2014)
Director: David Fincher
Cast: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris
Drama, thriller
149 minutes
It’s hard to say much about this movie without giving any spoilers. Which is something that I absolutely do not want to do since half of the enjoyment of watching this film comes from trying to guess what’s going on. But let’s try.
Gone Girl is a thriller about Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck), who, on his fifth wedding anniversary, comes home only to find a glass table smashed and his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) missing. Soon all eyes turn on Nick, as financial trouble and signs of their supposedly idyllic marriage being unhappy start to emerge. Nick claims that he’s innocent but his inappropriate media appearances, including him flashing a smile next to his wife’s missing person poster and posing for selfies with volunteers helping to find her, only add to people’s suspicion. Soon Nick finds himself surrounded by the news reporters 24/7 – making it even harder for him to try and find out what has really happened to his wife. At the same time, we get glimpses on Amy’s views on their marriage through her diary entries, many of them being in stark contrast with Nick’s views. And, sorry folks, but that’s all I can say about the plot. Except that it’s good. Like, really good. At 149 minutes, the film is relatively long, but not once did I feel like checking my watch – or turning my eyes away for any other reason, either, for that matter.
What comes to casting, it is brilliantly done. Ben Affleck is being a bit stiff as usual but it works well for the role of Nick who doesn’t even seem to know himself if he’s a fish or fowl. However, the real star of this film is, without a doubt, Rosamund Pike who’d deserve an Oscar for her amazing performance as Amy. Pike is previously known mainly for her supporting roles, such as Jane in BBC’s Pride and Prejudice, but Gone Girl proves that she is more than ready for challenging leading roles. Tyler Perry as Nick’s lawyer Tanner Bolt, “the patron saint of wife killers”, brings comedic aspects to the movie, which make it even more absurd and suddenly turn it into a satire.
I myself hadn’t read the bestselling novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn before seeing the movie, but since the adaptation is done by Flynn herself, the movie is bound to be quite truthful to the book. She has managed to make the novel’s two unreliable narrators work on screen, too, which I think is an achievement in itself. Also, the film is beautifully shot and the spine-chilling soundtrack adds a perfect finishing touch for the tone. In this movie, almost nothing is what it seems.
Gone Girl may just be one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve seen, but it also makes a good satire, commenting on both tabloid news and social media era, but also long-term relationships. It can’t get much more cynical than this, but still the film manages to be funny – just when you’re grossed out by the horrible twists. It doesn’t give you any easy answers, either. The film starts by a voice-over of Nick wondering “What have we done to each other”, but it never answers that question, instead repeating it at the end. This movie stays with you and I guarantee you’ll be thinking about its themes for the rest of the evening, if not for the next day too.