(Gone
Girl is really good; in fact it actually might be one of the best films of the
year. If you’re looking for a simple answer, go see it, but after you do, come back
and read this because there are certain things about it I want to touch upon
that might venture in SPOILER ALERT territory. I will give another warning at
the appropriate point during the summary, but after that, you’re on your own.)
Let me start this off by saying David Fincher is
amazing. In case you don’t know who he is, he was the guy behind Seven, Fight
Club, Zodiac, and The English version of The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo, a
highly underrated remake that while not as good as it’s Swedish counterpart
holds wonderfully on its own merits, but I’m getting off point. I have to admit
Gone Girl has been on my radar for a while and although I couldn’t see it on
Friday due to something coming up in my personal/business life, I managed to
rush in today to see it and I’m going to talk about it now.
Plot Summary – Ben Affleck stars as Nick Dunne, who’s
married to Amy played by Rosamund Pike. When he comes home one day to find Amy
missing under mysterious circumstances, he is immediately thrown under the
microscope of the public eye as the evidence piles up against as he maintains
his innocence. Throw in the fact that Amy’s parents wrote a series of
successful children’s books based off of her and the case goes nationwide.
Remember what I said about another Spoiler Alert
above? Here’s your last chance to turn back in 5
4
3
2
1
Okay, still with me? Then let’s continue.
Just as the halfway point of the film starts to kick
it, it’s revealed that not only is Amy alive and well, but is actively framing
Nick for her murder because of not only an affair with one of his students, but
for all of his failings of him not living up to the perfect husband status that
she had in mind for him. Amy’s plan unravels after she gets robbed and seeks
help from old flame and stalker Desi Collings played by Neil Patrick Harris,
while Nick seeks help from high profile attorney Tanner Bolt played Tyler Perry
(yeah the very same Madea Tyler Perry.) I’m not going to talk about how it ends
(I want to leave some surprises for you) but I wanted to talk about this point
mostly because of Rosamund Pike’s performance, which we’ll talk about now.
Pros – The best actor in this movie by far is Rosamund
Pike. She plays the psychotic controlling lover so well that I honestly wouldn’t
be shocked if she at least got an Oscar Nomination (And I have to admit there’s
one scene I won’t spoil that I’d never thought I’d see her do and it is
shockingly awesome, I even heard people vocally express their disgust and I
haven’t had heard that in any other movie I’ve seen). Ben Affleck gives off a
really nice performance as Nick, playing the usually calm, subtle, but
sometimes kind of dumb and all of it works really well. Neil Patrick Harris
also does well in his small but crucial role (at one point almost giving
Rosamund a run for her money) and, I’d never thought I’d say this ever, but
Tyler Perry is awesome in this, like really awesome. They refer to him as Elvis
a couple of times and while I wish he had a tiny more bit of screen time, he
really does make his character kind of seem like Elvis. One last mention acting
wise goes out to Missi Pyle as Ellen Abbott, who basically parodies Nancy Grace
fantastically mostly in the background news reports about Amy that we see throughout
the movie.
On a technical and visual level, David Fincher is at
his best here as the whole film looks and feels exactly like a Fincher film
should. He masterfully handles the admittedly absurd plot and manages at times
to make you feel like you’re watching a true story play out. Even at 2h 32m the
film never drags on and manages to keep the pace up spectacularly. When I
checked my phone after the movie was over, I was actually shocked at how late
it was.
“Cons” – This film is really intense at times, hell
the scene I mentioned that Rosamund has was by far the most shocking thing I’ve
seen in film in a long time. I’m not going to fault the movie for this, but I
will say that this movie is not for everyone, and that is understandable. The
movie labels itself as a mystery thriller, and I would agree to that, but I’d
add Psychological as well, because it will get into your head, and it will make
you say what the fuck at least once. So basically the only “con” here is that
if you can’t handle intense psychological movies, I’d recommend you go with
someone who doesn’t mind you gripping onto them for dear life for the more
intense parts.
Final Score – 10/10
While it’s not for everyone, Gone Girl is fantastic,
and a great way to start off the fall season. If we can get more films like
this, this year might go one as one of the better years in films. I expect
Oscar nominations for at least Rosamund and David, and for the first time in my
life I can honestly say I like Tyler Perry in something and would love to see
him do more stuff like it. Not only do I highly recommend (for those of you who
can stomach it) I feel absolutely confident in my 10/10. Expect this on my year
end top ten.
I’m now pumped for the fall season, and I got another
review coming tomorrow of another film I’ve been eyeballing, The Skeleton
Twins.
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