Gone Girl is airport fiction, but it’s airport fiction David Fincher (Se7en, Zodiac) has directed with every last fiber of his being, turning it into a film where its story almost gets in the way of its thematic quandaries. What’s more, in a movie review I can only skirt some of the more intriguing aspects of the movie so as not to spoil the twisted delight you get from watching it unfold for yourself and the discussions you’ll be having as you walk out of the theatre.
Where is Amy Dunne? It’s her (Rosamund Pike) fifth wedding anniversary and her husband, Nick (Ben Affleck), has come home to what looks like a crime scene and his wife is nowhere to be found. The question of Amy’s possible abduction/murder permeates the opening moments of this adaptation of Gillian Flynn‘s best-selling novel.
Flynn also wrote the screenplay, slicing her 420-page book down to where Fincher has turned it into a 149-minute movie filled with social commentary, dark satire and bits of tension relieving humor. It works, largely, because Fincher directs it in such a way that allows us to take part in the darkness and soapy melodrama, while at the same time laughing at it. A key line from Tyler Perry, playing the stereotypically-named high-profile attorney Tanner Bolt, gives the audience a massive jolt of relief in the waning moments as we slowly realize how all this will end for Nick, a husband who finds himself in the middle of a media storm and accusations he may have something to do with his wife’s disappearance.
Fincher, initially, puts us in the mind of the detectives investigating the case. Led by Detectives Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) and Jim Gilpin (Patrick Fugit), we see a small dash of blood above the stove, a smashed coffee table and little else is immediately suspicious to the naked eye. Meanwhile, we’re also taken back in time via scenes told through Amy’s diary, stories of the couple’s first meeting, how the recession caused them to lose their jobs in New York City and how Nick’s mother’s breast cancer brought them from the big city to Missouri to care for her in her final days. Their marriage appears on the rocks, but soon conflicting details between what Nick is telling investigators and what Amy has written in her diary leaves us with one of two conclusions; 1.) Nick is lying or 2.) Amy is an unreliable narrator. The best part of Gone Girl is Fincher and Flynn leave the majority of the answers up to you.
It’s these kinds of questions that will have you in suspense, these questions as well as declarative statements such as “That’s marriage“, coldly received like something of a death blow as Gone Girl is not only a murder mystery, but an exploration of matrimony, the challenges that test a relationship and when things start to go bad, who’s to blame or is there a measure of mutual complicity? The way Gone Girl is told it’s almost as if we’re the judge and jury in a divorce proceeding, asked to find fault amid a tidal wave of conflicting information.
Then you have Amy’s parents (Lisa Banes and David Clennon) and the book series her mother wrote titled “The Amazing Amy”, a character whose life mirrors that of Amy’s, that is, until it doesn’t. Add to that the biting commentary on today’s 24-hour media coverage of such events as Amy’s disappearance and you’ve entered a world where information changes from minute to minute and media pinheads judge that information instantly without considering what may or may not be the truth.
I haven’t read Flynn’s novel, so I’m not sure how much cultural relevance it holds, but I have to assume it has more than its fair share considering she seemed to collaborate with Fincher the entire way on this project. Sure, you can find yourself exploring the ins and outs of the mystery at the center of the film and how it will end, but once you leave the theater those that were paying closer attention will find themselves talking about something much deeper than the plot itself, which is more of a table setting for a morally complex feast of ideas and themes.
On a performance level, Pike is where your attention will be drawn. I don’t want to say much as to why, considering it’s a performance best experienced first hand for fear of giving away any aspect of the story. Carrie Coon (“The Leftovers”) as Nick’s sister is also worthy of praise as she is forced to play up more of the standard emotions seen in such a film as her brother, with whom she runs a local bar and is incredibly close, finds himself under the media microscope and it doesn’t help she was never a fan of Amy.
Tyler Perry is perfectly cast as the big city lawyer with all the answers. Missi Pyle does a wonderful Nancy Grace and while I wasn’t a huge fan of Neil Patrick Harris‘ character, who’s merely a device to lead the third act, I can’t deny he played the part to perfection.
Again Fincher goes to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the film’s score and it’s just as appropriately atmospheric and layered as the work they did on The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I don’t know if it’s Ren Klyce and David Parker‘s natural use of sound or if it’s something Fincher brings out of them, but once again the sound mix and design on a film that typically wouldn’t draw notice to such details is superb, most specifically in the way ambient noise isn’t forgotten and drowned out, but just as much a part of the film as the dialogue. It adds texture to the film, a sense of realism that’s often lost.
When I first walked out of the theater I felt Gone Girl was a film I had little reason to ever see again. However, my wife and I discussed it the entire way home and again the next day. I began discussing it further with others and as I began sorting out my thoughts for this review I found myself loving it more and more.
I believe those that have read the book will be at an advantage heading into the theater. You already know how it’s going to play out. You can pay closer attention to the smaller details peppered throughout and the larger themes explored within every scene. Seeing it come to life on the big screen will have you noticing details, movements and motivations you weren’t privy to while reading as the mystery fades away and more pressing, cultural questions become increasingly important.
