Gone Girl is not a movie you should see with a date or a boyfriend. Gillian Flynn herself said, “My fondest dream is that it will be the date movie that breaks up couples nationwide.” (source) This movie is a twisted look into the minds of a couple that will make you step back and think, How well do I know this person?
This movie tells the story of Nick and Amy Dunne, a married couple who met in New York City and moved to Nick’s Missouri home to take care of his ailing mother. On the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick comes home to find his door thrown open, his coffee table smashed, and his wife missing. The town, cops, and media are quick to pin the crime on Nick, due to the apparent staging of the crime scene and his stoic demeanor on camera. It sounds like I’m spoiling the plot, but all this is just the setup – the actual twists and turns are much nastier and darker.
For all those who have read Gone Girl, the movie is one of the most faithful page-to-screen adaptions I’ve seen. In a rare instance of an author having some creative control in the film, Flynn (the author) wrote a script that picked out the most important events, elements, and nuances of her story, keeping in much of what made her book successful in the first place. Her skillful writing coupled with David Fincher’s moody, atmospheric directing gives this adaption life.
Ben Affleck plays Nick Dunne, a “corn-fed, salt of the earth Missouri guy” as he describes himself to Amy during their first meeting. The role of Nick is a tricky one, and Affleck plays him perfectly. Throughout the movie, Nick walks this line of ambiguity between innocence and guilt, and the good guy role he plays must be just a hair too insincere. He can’t outwardly seem like a criminal or a jerk, but it has to bubble just under the surface. Affleck carries this dual nature off so well it’s scary.
Amy Dunne is an even more complex character than Nick. She is the Harvard educated daughter of celebrated children’s authors, whose successful series “Amazing Amy” follows her own childhood. She is impossibly intelligent, and also has a charming façade hiding her warped interior. Her character has two very different personas, and Rosamund Pike carefully crafts each of these to perfection.
The media following the case accumulates due to Amy’s Amazing Amy fame adds another layer of uncertainty and murkiness to the plot. The news outlets seize on Nick as guilty and twist every piece of evidence to fit their story. A particularly vindictive talk show host spends many episodes persecuting Nick. The use of the media shows how quickly public opinion becomes a determining factor in a case like this. The three versions of this story- Nick’s, Amy’s, and the media’s- mix together until its impossible to distinguish the truth from the fabrication.
This movie isn’t your average thriller. You will leave the theater unsettled. Despite that, it is definitely worth seeing, and especially suited for Halloween. The final line will echo in your mind long after you leave the theater – What have we done to each other?
Watch the trailer here:
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