Gone Fincher...

Rating: 7/10 (22 October 2014)

David Fincher – *sigh*. What to do? I was taken with Fight Club, though I now suspect that was more Cronenweth's visual style (three condoms floating in the toilet bowl, Ed Norton's immortal self-abuse, etc – all rendered in sterile whites and tonsured browns). Zodiac confused the hell out of me – now, I admit, many Fincher fanatics will defend Zodiac 'til they're blue in the face – but it wasn't my style. I considered 'The Social Network' a return to form – yes, perhaps not the cerebral psycho-thriller that 'Fight Club' was, but certainly an examination of a parallel pathology.
Many have been debating 'Gone Girl' on the grounds of misogyny, questioning whether it is a feminist film or not. Though I have not read Gillian Flynn's eponymous novel, I have read secondary material on it that has convinced me that her opaque and sinister Amy has a much more complex motivation behind her than Fincher gives her credit for. And indeed, this was what was missing for me most in this film – where is Amy's third act? She barrels out of the gate with her 'Cool Girl' speech, the first time we see her on screen, but then by the end she's just cold knives and blood spattered bedsheets. Ben Affleck's salt of the earth Nick is an unconvincing dolt, and I find it hard to sympathize with his character whatsoever. Overall, I'm interested – but I wish that Fincher had given me a bit more OOMPH to these characters. Something a little more to love, but maybe that's the cynical point.