Review: ‘Gone Girl’
Now that the fall movie season is underway, the hype machine has gone into overdrive. In the case of Gone Girl, it can for the most part be believed.
It doesn’t measure up to Frantic and much less to The Lady Vanishes, but Gone Girl is a very solid work and definitely superior to recent similar films like Gone and whatever’s being made for basic cable.
It is the day of the fifth anniversary for Nick (Ben Affleck) and Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) when the latter disappears. The house shows signs indicative of foul play and the cops (Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit) are brought in, but then the case goes public in a big way. Amy’s parents (David Clennon and Lisa Banes) are famous for a series of children’s books in which the character is based on their daughter, so the situation garners nationwide news attention.
Intercutting are flashback scenes from Amy’s diary in her voice. We see how the two met and the dating period, through the early part of the marriage, and to their present status.
From there it’s a twist-a-thon through many turns. Some can be easily anticipated, while others are very shocking. It’s all held together well by a script from the author of the novel, Gillian Flynn. This adaptation is a very faithful one; the story remains perfectly intact but so do the bigger themes relating to the media’s effect on the public, the disparities or lack thereof between the haves and the have-nots, and the expectations for husbands and wives in American society.
Director David Fincher is fully in his element. He excellently composes the scenes for maximum effect, heightening the dread and granting levity at the right moments. Along with him here are composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for their third go-round, and again deliver a great score.
Pike is extraordinary; at this stage, it would be an injustice if she doesn’t at least receive a Golden Globe nomination. This wouldn’t be half the film it is if it weren’t for her. Tyler Perry is fantastic as a Johnnie Cochran-esque lawyer who helps Nick play the talk show circuit; it’s a shame there weren’t any courtroom scenes.
Affleck is most often one of the worst things in his movies (especially true of his horrendous and very racist turn in Argo), and this one is no exception. Granted the character is supposed to be something of a bad actor – it’s practically meta when someone else remarks how wooden he is – so he is a good fit in that regard, but he is easily outshined by every other actor.
Unfortunately, there are some other issues as well. Gone Girl suffers a bad case of stupid cop syndrome. As soon as the film ended, I knew of at least a half-dozen obvious clues that went overlooked, and came up with more afterwards. It would be one thing if the characters were meant to be this way, but since the story builds them as competent and driven, it’s a considerable defect.
Also the ending comes as a bit of a letdown. The film loses its thriller rhythm for slow drama, and it’s far from satisfying. This is also why the stupid cop syndrome is so problematic. Because if they were more capable, their findings would change the course of the story and the result would be all the better.
Fincher and Flynn will be working together again on an HBO series. If this effort is of any indication, it has great, great potential. And their next cinematic projects, whether alone and collaborating, can very much be looked forward to.
