Gone Girl: Covering a Public Secret

Rating: 4/10 (4 April 2020)

First time I watched Gone Girl, I was like, Wow! What a mystery! Performances, drama, the screenplay... all perfectly put together. (SPOILERS AHEAD)
We've sure seen plenty of male psychopaths, serial killers, pedophiles and rapists (inspired by real life characters). But here's this pretty woman, petite, a successful author, a celebrity of sorts! Who could imagine her to be a serial killer? Killer of boy friends and partners. And she has many methods of killing up her sleeve, apart from knifing.
I watched it a second time yesterday, after a gap of probably 3 years. Something struck me while watching Gone Girl this time. A strong underlying narrative was palpable. A narrative that was very familiar to me, personally familiar. That which is created to cover up a public secret.
In the words of Michael Taussig, a Public Secret is that which is generally known, but cannot be articulated...not being able to say anything is like testimony to its power.
That women are not believed or trusted when they report domestic violence, sexual assault or rape, is a public secret. As opposed to this, the popular narrative seeks to project women as liars, indulging in scheming and cheating, who would not desist from assaulting themselves for framing someone (usually completely innocent) out of lust, jealousy, greed or vengeance.
That's precisely the perception created by the film.
The female protagonist's character has been modelled on that of a psychopathic paranoid criminal personality (someone in need of psychiatric treatment).
However, instead of projecting her as such, she is projected as an intelligent and successful modern woman loved and admired by one and all. She is, yet she is not the psychopath who would go to jail in the end. She is one of many. She is one of us.
Surely she is a split personality. As opposed to the charismatic public persona of hers, her private persona is made of secrets, lies and crime. She's over-ambitious, manipulative and very cleverly abuses the laws meant to protect women. Completely black, no shades of grey.
In the first half, she is a role model for all women of her age and time and in the second half she is a woman who has falsely and wrongly trapped at least 3 men, including her husband; she has framed them in serious criminal offences with meticulous planning and flawless execution. Though most of these offences are committed by her herself, including murder. She gets the better of everyone, the police, lawyer, media, neighbours, her parents, the boyfriends and her husband. No one's a match for her criminal mind.
What do you get when you put these two sides of her personality together? That women who are intelligent, smart and successful are capable of feigning being raped and assaulted and will do so if dissatisfied with their husbands or partners, for any reason. Beware ! Watch out for these women ! In parties, at workplace, anywhere and everywhere.
The husband, on the other hand, is a charming, good looking, handsome guy, who makes some mistakes, acknowledges them and apologises for the same. To become likeable again, from the most hated man in the country. He's been deceived and trapped by his own wife. He's neither all black, nor all white. He's human, he's normal.
The last boyfriend before her marriage is another innocent guy who's only fault was that he wanted to step back a little. He's prosecuted for rape, pleads guilty and is serving his time. He cannot get a decent accommodation or job because he's listed on the sex offenders register. All this when the sex was completely consensual, in fact she was the one who was desperate for it.
The boyfriend from school guy, is so gullible, that he gets trapped twice and pays with his life the second time.
Well ! By this time my head is full of all the rape investigations and court trials I've witnessed or read the files or books about. Where the typical story is acquittal, because the raped woman was lying, cheating, concocting stories and creating all those injuries and false documents. It was like Amy just got out of a court file and enacted the courtroom version of her in the film, along with all the other characters.
Was Amy's story told from Amy's perspective? Or did Amy find herself under a Male Gaze ?
As audience, would we able to discern the standpoint of Amy or would that remain a public secret ? Would the audience know what not to know ? Even if they do, would they be obliged to act and think as if they don't know what cannot be known ?