Gone Girl
Tags: suspenseful, neo noir, cruelty, murder, mystery, dramatic, violence, flashback, clever, revenge, sadist

Plot synopsis:
Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) is stroking the hair of his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike), saying through a voiceover that he'd like to crack her skull and pick apart her brain to answer that eternal question married couples have: What are you thinking?July 5, 2012Nick takes out the garbage early in the morning, and looks around at the quiet neighbourhood. He then goes to a bar he co-owns with his sister Margo (Carrie Coon). He brings her a Mastermind board game that she throws in with a pile of others. He asks for a drink, and she pours one for each of them. It's the morning of Nick and Amy's 5th wedding anniversary, and he expects another scavenger hunt. Nick seems distressed, not wanting to be there at all.January 8, 2005Nick and Amy first meet at a party in New York. He writes for a men's magazine and she writes personality quizzes for another. She makes a comment on the cleft of his chin making him look untrustworthy. He puts two fingers over the cleft so he'll appear more trusting. They take a walk and pass through a bakery that is getting a sugar delivery. Sugar is floating around everywhere as Nick and Amy walk through it. Nick tells Amy he has to kiss her now. He wipes some sugar off her lips and kisses her. They are later seen in bed with her lying on her back in her underwear and him performing oral sex on her.Present Day.Nick gets a call from a neighbor, telling him that his cat is outside. He returns home and calls for Amy. No answer. He goes into the living room and sees a table flipped over and the glass top is shattered on the floor. Nick screams Amy's name, startling a neighbor.Nick calls the police. Arriving at his home are Detective Rhonda Boney and Officer Jim Gilpin (Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit). They inspect the place. Rhonda sees a small splatter of blood in the kitchen above the range. In the living room, they see a wall with pictures of "Amazing Amy", a book series written by Amy's parents. Rhonda comments that she loves the books and is surprised to learn that Nick is married to Amazing Amy herself.February 24, 2007Nick and Amy go to a party held by her parents Rand and Marybeth (David Clennon and Lisa Banes). It is to celebrate the latest Amazing Amy book, where Amy gets married. As Nick and Amy discuss the exhibitions at the party, it becomes clear that the parents' fictional Amazing Amy character is a dramatically "improved" version of their real daughter that is sold it to the public. (For example, they gave Amazing Amy a dog, but refused one for their real daughter. They made Amazing Amy a prodigy cellist when real the Amy dropped out.) Rand asks Amy to go sit with some reporters so they can interview her. She does, and they ask her mundane questions such as why she's not married yet (to which she replies that Amazing Amy has always been one step ahead of her). Nick comes in pretending to be a reporter. He asks her more personal questions, leading up to a marriage proposal - opening his notebook to reveal an engagement ring. He mentions that she has a world class vagina.Present DayNick is brought into the police station for questioning about Amy's disappearance. Rhonda and Jim find it odd that he seems rather indifferent and passive when answering questions and the fact that he doesn't know if Amy has any close friends or her blood type. He goes to call Amy's parents. Her mother asks to speak to Rhonda. In the next room, Nick finds that his father Bill (Leonard Kelly-Young) is in there after the police found him wandering around town, having left his assisted living facility (he suffers from Alzheimer's). Nick drives him back to the facility.Nick stays at Margo's house while the police inspect his home. A pregnant neighbor, Noelle Hawthorne (Casey Wilson), who claims to be Amy's best friend, comes by and asks about Amy. In the upstairs bedroom, Officer Gilpin says that he found "it" in the drawer of "unmentionables." Detective Boney pulls out an envelope, labelled "Clue One."July 5, 2009Nick and Amy have been happily married for two years. On their anniversary, another of Amy's scavenger hunts takes them to the library to have sex in a quiet area. Amy gives Nick a gift. He opens the box to find a package of very high quality bed sheets. She refers to a private joke they had about how their sex was too good for ordinary sheets. He laughs and pulls out a gift for her - the same sheets.Present DayWhen questioned about this "clue", Nick says Amy always prepares a treasure hunt for their anniversary. The first clue leads him and Rhonda to his office, with another envelope on his desk labelled "Clue Two." Detective Boney finds a pair of red panties in the office. Nick is surprised by this discovery, as it doesn't seem directly related to the clue. The second clue mentions a brown house, but tells the detective that he doesn't understand it. Nick goes to his father's old home, which is painted blue. He arrives, but sets off the alarm. He enters the code twice to disarm the alarm, but it doesn't work. The phone rings, and it is the alarm monitoring company investigating the alarm. As he starts to explain that it's his father's house, the detectives arrive, so he figures they must be following him. He finds the third clue there but only has time to tuck it into his back pocket, hiding it from the police. The detectives question him as to why he's there. He says he comes by once a week to make sure the place doesn't burn down.Amy's parents fly in from New York as a press conference is held to spread awareness of Amy's disappearance. Nick asks others for help, but he appears emotionless. He is asked to pose next to a poster of Amy, and a photographer captures the brief moment when a smile appears on his face.Nick and Amy's parents meet with Rhonda to determine some possible suspects. Rand names an ex-boyfriend of Amy's, Desi Collings, who apparently tried to commit suicide after Amy broke up with him. They also mention a former classmate named Tommy O'Hara who was convicted of sexually assaulting Amy.People go to the volunteer center to help find Amy. One person there is Desi Collings (Neil Patrick Harris), but he leaves without saying anything. Nick tries to come off as friendly to others, but Jim doesn't buy it. Even Marybeth thinks he is acting like a "homecoming king." Nick is approached in a hallway by a woman who extends her sympathy and offers to make him a chicken-Frito pie casserole. She stands next to him and takes a selfie of the two of them, telling him to say "chicken-Frito pie." He makes a fake smile as she takes the photo and he immediately realizes this was a mistake and asks her to delete the photo. She refuses, and he asks her not to share it with anyone. She replies, "I'll share it with anyone I please" as she walks away. The photo goes viral. Consequently, the media starts analyzing Nick. TV personalities like Ellen Abbott (Missi Pyle) paint him as an unempathetic sociopath.2010Amy's diary explains how both she and Nick lose their jobs. Amy talks about the troubles they are having, then says, "But that's all background noise." She says that none of it matters as long as they have each other. Then Amy tells Nick that her parents are having financial problems and asked her for her trust fund money, which is nearly a million dollars. Nick is shocked that she would do that without talking to him first. Amy explains that the money is really their money anyway, and then says, "This is the part where you say, 'It's all background noise.'" He appears to calm down, and repeats the phrase. Later on, Nick has started losing interest in the marriage and has begun overspending on electronics like video games and a new laptop. Amy thinks he is trying to make her look like a cold, bitchy wife. To make matters worse, Nick and Margo's mother Maureen (Cyd Strittmatter) has been diagnosed with breast cancer, forcing Nick and Amy to move back to his hometown in Missouri. Amy feels a bit upset because Nick didn't even discuss the decision to move to Missouri with her, although she does support it. In general, Amy feels left out. She says he is just using her for sex. Nick is getting ready to go out with his old friends one evening when Amy tries to persuade him to stay with her, but he refuses. Then she offers to join him, but he also refuses, saying how she won't enjoy it. Then Any makes the suggestion that they have a child. He starts to get angry, asking why couldn't they have had this argument four hours prior, instead of when he is about to leave. The argument escalates as they go down the stairs, and at the bottom of the stairs Nick grabs Amy and throws her down, and she strikes the bannister post and falls to the floor. He immediately looks shameful.Present DayA few nights after Amy disappears, Nick is at Margo's house. It's late and Margo has gone to bed. Nick gets a text saying, "I'm outside." Nick opens the back door. A young woman, Andie Fitzgerald (Emily Ratajkowski), comes in and starts kissing Nick. He tells her to be quiet while Margo is sleeping. He makes sure that Andie hasn't said anything to anybody about her affair with Nick or that he has mentioned wanting to divorce Amy. He asks her if she left some red panties in his office, and she is doubtful, but not 100% sure. They continue kissing and have sex.Nick has Andie slip out the door early in the morning, thinking Margo is still asleep. However, Margo appears in the kitchen and angrily berates her brother for lying to her, knowing what would happen if the cops or media were to find out about this.At night, there is a vigil for Amy. Nick stands alongside her parents, and tries to seem more empathetic and anxious to find Amy, telling the crowd how he truly loves his wife. Andie is clearly visible up front in the crowd and mouths the word "asshole" in a way that only he can see. Noelle walks by and calls out to Nick, asking him if he knew that Amy was six weeks pregnant. The reporters chase Nick all the way to the police car as they escort him away.Margo presses Nick about the pregnancy bombshell. He says he did not know she was pregnant, but that he did want kids and Amy didn't. He shows her a letter from a fertility clinic that they were going to, stating that they were going to dispose of a semen sample they had left there, unless someone came to retrieve it.Rhonda and Jim meet Nick back in his home and explain that the results of a light test showed that someone wiped up a large pool of blood in the kitchen. Nick also doubts that Amy knew Noelle, until Rhonda shows him photographs of the two of them together, along with Noelle's kids. She even hands Nick a document of recent expensive transactions from his credit card, mentioning items including golf clubs and a Stratocaster guitar, though Nick says he never bought any of those items. Additionally, Rhonda presses Nick about the fact that he upped Amy's life insurance policy earlier that year to over a million dollars. He barks back, "because she told me to!" Rhonda gets a call confirming Amy's urine sample analysis indicate that she was indeed pregnant.Nick remembers the third clue in his pocket, and tries to decipher it. Rhonda and Jim continue their investigation, checking out the abandoned mall, now frequented by prostitutes and drug dealers. They find a local dealer and show him a picture of Amy. He tells Rhonda that she came by and tried to buy a gun from him. He had a clear memory of the event; it was Valentine's Day and she had been wearing a pink dress. They go back to Nick's father's home, wondering why Nick went there in the first place so soon after Amy's disappearance. In the furnace in the basement, they find Amy's diary hidden in the furnace, burnt slightly. Nick, meanwhile, figures out that the third clue refers to a wood shed outside Margo's home. He discovers a large pile of items from the credit card purchases stored there, as well as a gift-wrapped box in the middle of it all.Amy's Version: July 5, 2012We go back to "the morning of", and we learn the truth - Amy is alive and she staged everything to lead up to her disappearance. She is seen driving away from Missouri with her arm bandaged up with a blood spot evident on the inside of her elbow. Amy had used a variety of pens to make recent diary entries appear as if they were written over the past 5 years, and periodically threw each one out the car window. It documents a happy marriage deteriorating to the point where she buys a gun because she is afraid that Nick may kill her. She even faked her pregnancy by befriending pregnant Noelle and making her think that Nick was hurting her. Amy drained her toilet and offered Noelle lemonade until she had to use the bathroom. Amy then stole her urine and used it to submit it for the pregnancy test.On their fifth anniversary, Amy told Nick to take a walk and really think about their marriage, knowing full well he would go for a walk in his favorite isolated spot along the beach and thus have no alibi. Meanwhile she set up a crime scene to make Nick look guilty. Her plans included suicide so that her body would be found to completely frame Nick. To make sure she's not found out, she cuts her hair, dyes it, and makes herself look unkempt and disheveled. She begins eating large amounts of junk food to gain weight. She hides out at a small resort under the name Nancy, even hitting herself in the face with a hammer to sell the idea that she is hiding from an abusive boyfriend. She befriends a woman named Greta (Lola Kirke). Amy tells her how she came across Nick leaving the bar with Andie during a snowy night, wiping her lips before he kissed her the same way he kissed Amy when they first met (this part is true). With her plan working perfectly, she postpones her suicide for another month.Back to NickNick brings the gift box inside and opens it to find Punch and Judy dolls, with the Judy doll holding a baby and missing a mallet. Together, he and Margo deduce that Amy has framed Nick for her disappearance.Nick goes to New York to find Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry), a lawyer specializing in tough, high-profile cases who has been following Nick's story in the media. He agrees to help Nick in his defense. He gives Nick the contact information of Tommy O'Hara (Amy's second boyfriend, who was charged with sexual assault) so that Nick can ask him questions.Nick meets Tommy (Scoot McNairy) in a bar. Tommy says he and Amy dated for a while, but he could see that she was using him. He gave her some space, hoping she'd break off the relationship. One day, she seduced him, and told him she wanted rough sex. She staged a scene where she had marked her wrists and left neckties tied to the bed to make it appear he had tied her up. She went to the police, and claimed he had raped her. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge to avoid prison time. Now he is a registered sex offender and has not been able to get a job. He warns Nick about how evil and manipulative she is. Nick later visits Desi after finding his address from a letter he wrote to Amy. After Nick asks Desi about his side of the story regarding his attempted suicide, Desi closes the door on him and walks back inside his house without confirming or denying the things she told Nick about him.At the resort, Amy plays mini-golf with Greta and her friend Jeff (Boyd Holbrook). At one point, she jumps up and drops her fanny pack full of money. Greta and Jeff notice. The next day, as Amy is cleaning the room meticulous to prepare to leave, they force their way into her room and start searching for the money. Amy threatens to call the police. Greta says that she doesn't know what she's up to, but has dyed hair and she doesn't think she's ever been hit. Greta says, "You won't call the police." They find the money under her dress, and take it. Now penniless, she calls the Missing Amy tip line, and reports suspicious activity at Margo's wood shed. She then places a call from a pay phone.Tanner goes to Missouri to help Nick and Margo clear up Nick's image. Nick tells Tanner what he thinks has been going on with Amy, dropping clues that only he would really know. For instance, the reason he knew that the "brown house" in the treasure hunt clue was his dad's house was because they used to pretend that his dad was a spy called Mr. Brown. Nick also admits to the affair, which Tanner says he ought to tell the cops about so that it gives them one less reason to think Nick had a motivation to kill Amy.Nick later books an interview on TV with Sharon Schieber (Sela Ward) to tell his side of the story. Tanner coaches him to make him seem more likeable by having Nick admit that he's been unfaithful and dishonest, which would earn him some possible points in the media.On the day of the interview, Tanner keeps trying to get Nick to come off less smug and more genuinely upset by pelting him with gummy bears in his dressing room when Nick appears too smug or untrustworthy.At the same time, Desi meets Amy at a casino. She never mentions getting her money stolen, but she continues to play up the abused wife angle. They leave for Desi's lake house.As Nick meets Sharon, a bombshell hits the news: Andie has confessed to her affair with Nick at a press conference, with Amy's parents. Desi and Amy see the news while Sharon gets wind of it at the same time. Marybeth tells reporters that her and Rand's love for Nick has ended then and there.Desi and Amy watch Nick's interview with Sharon, while Nick is watching with Margo. Nick convincingly comes off as remorseful for the affair, but he insists that he did not kill his wife. Sharon lets him speak directly into the camera to say something to Amy. He says he loves her and mentions the woodshed (figuratively, apparently as a secret message to Amy) before putting two fingers on his chin, knowing Amy would recognize that. Margo checks the Internet and sees that Nick is trending positive with the public.Things take an unfortunate turn when Rhonda and other officers show up at Margo's home with a search warrant due to the call about the woodshed. They find all the merchandise from the credit card bill. Both Nick and Margo are taken into custody. Rhonda reads to Nick the pages of Amy's diary, which ends with "This man may truly kill me." Jim brings in the missing Judy mallet from the puppets. It has been burned in their fireplace, but traces of Amy's blood are found on it. Rhonda now has a murder weapon, and arrests Nick. He protests, but Tanner shuts him up.At Desi's home, Amy learns that Desi has security cameras installed all over the property. She is virtually a prisoner in his home. While he's out at work, she stages what looks like a brutal rape. She soaks her nightgown in red wine, binds her hands and feet, then crawls to the camera, crying, making it look like she's just been raped.Nick and Margo are released on bond. The media continues to hound them on the way out, now that everyone is convinced Nick is a cold monster. Nick quietly whispers to himself, "Come home, Amy. I dare you."Amy waits for Desi to come home. She gets a wine bottle and puts it in herself to create injuries. When Desi gets home, Amy seduces him and agrees to run off with him to Greece once the trial is over. They go into the bedroom. She starts taking his clothes off, tearing his shirt open, and they start having sex. Amy demands it to be harder. Desi is caught off guard, once he gives over to the moment, lifting his head to the ceiling, Amy grabs a box cutter she concealed beneath the pillows and slashes his throat. She is drenched in his blood as he dies underneath her. She does look upset about what she's just done.Nearly a month after Amy's disappearance, Nick looks out his window and sees Amy drive up, still covered in blood. The reporters and neighbours are shocked and begin clamoring around Nick and Amy as she walks up to him. He whispers to her, "You fucking bitch", before she collapses in his arms.At the hospital, Amy is interviewed by a roomful of police and weaves a story about how Desi kidnapped and raped her before she made her heroic escape. Rhonda asks her questions about the items in Margo's woodshed, but Amy deflects the question and returns to her rape story, while also being heavily medicated on painkillers. The reporters follow her and Nick home, happy that she's alive and that Nick is now vindicated. However, Nick knows something is wrong, and asks her what really happened. Amy forces Nick to disrobe to prove he's not wearing a wire. She goes to the shower to wash off the copious amounts of Desi's blood still covering her. In the shower with Nick, she all but confesses that she framed Desi and murdered him in order to return to Nick as he had requested (and presumably also to make her return seem heroic). Nick sleeps in a separate room and locks the door behind him.Nick meets with Tanner, Margo, and Rhonda (who now trusts Nick) about this revelation, though without sufficient evidence and with everyone on Amy's side, they cannot prove that she murdered Desi.Nick and Amy make their first public appearance together at the volunteer center, posing as a happily reunited couple. They are even set to have an interview with Ellen Abbott in their home. As they are getting ready, Amy gives Nick a gift, which is a pregnancy test. It's positive. Nick first says it can't be his, and he'll demand a blood test. Then he realizes that she has retrieved his semen sample, and is using this as a ploy to keep him with her. The tension escalates and he grabs her and slams her head against the wall, calling her a cunt. She tells him she's the same cunt he fell in love with. And she's the only cunt that ever made him feel like a man. Reluctantly, Nick joins Amy hand-in-hand for the interview. During the interview, Amy prods Nick and he says they're going to be parents, when Ellen appears overjoyed and hugs Amy. Margo later finds out about the pregnancy and cries for her brother, and is distraught that he plans to stay with her for the sake of the child for the next 18 years.The film concludes with a similar shot as the opening, Nick stroking Amy's hair again, wondering to himself just what she's thinking.

Review: By far one of the best acting performances to have come from Ben Affleck, 'Gone Girl' boasts some strong yet disturbing portrayals from Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry and Affleck.
Fincher exercises upon his trademarks with the swift and stunning cinematography, the chilling score and tight editing, all of which makes 'Gone Girl' a movie full of great visual storytelling..
The first act of the movie is the run-of-the-mill wife gone missing, the husband accused of killing her plot.
To the people who are familiar with David Fincher's work, this is not the case with Gone Girl.Yes, the first act is very ordinary, but the second act uproots whatever ever considered dull about the movie as it takes a rapid turn into thriller stardom, resembling something taken out of a Hitchcock movie.
I just enjoyed the ride.'Gone Girl' is one of those films where you don't want to say too much about for fear of giving things away and spoiling it for people who haven't seen it.
It's fair to say that what follows is a film that twists and turns, so you only really get one chance to watch it and not know what's coming.Many people don't really like Affleck when it comes to acting (even less now he's due to don the Batsuit!), but I think most people will relate to him as he gets pursued and hounded (unfairly?
Great ensemble cast who works together to delivery the dark humor lines in the film.This movie will definitely be an instant classic and I cant wait to watch it again!.
Ben Affleck's Nick manages to inspire sympathy without ever being truly likable while Rosamund Pike's Amy (the star of the show in my opinion) is brilliant, terrifying, hilarious and despicable in various combinations and occasionally all at the same time.David Fincher's direction is both classy and clever (as usual) and several scenes are particularly outstanding due at least as much to his brilliance as that of the actors involved in them.
Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) comes home one day to find his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) missing.
Visually stunning as one would expect from Fincher, with an immersive soundtrack by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and an editing rhythm that cuts like a knife through the tissue of the story and its characters, Gone Girl" leaves no doubt about its craft and the deceptive nature of its source novel by Gillian Flynn.
Like many of his previous films, Gone Girl is a very long film, but in a true Fincher-esque fashion, it is as engaging as possible without any scope for the viewer to feel bored.
Gillian Flynn's screenplay based on her own novel is brilliant and it is also a damning indictment of how media can shape and mould mass perception and it is also a cynical account of the institution of marriage.Ben Affleck is good, Tyler Perry is good, but this movie from an acting perspective belongs to Rosamund Pike.
Lead by an all star cast featuring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry and Neil Patrick Harris, Gone Girl rises above the pack with smart storytelling, phenomenal pacing and perfect performances.
With plenty of twists and turns, Gone Girl keeps you, not only second guessing the whole idea of marriage, but the intentions of every character in the film.
David Fincher and his long time collaborator and cinematographer, Jeff Cronenweth create a dreary, horrific tone for Gone Girl that makes every twist and turn that much more gut wrenching.
David Fincher has done what i thought was the impossible, by making a movie from a book, and it actually being good, i'm even going to say better than the book, and i don't give that out lightly.First off, the use of sound within the film, both diegetic and nondiegetic really sell this film to me, it does a great job in unnerving us as an audience and its just a little off, if i looked at the score of the film, i wouldn't be surprised if it comprised of tritones (For those who don't know, tritones make music sound just that tad off), and the synth sorta sound reminds me a lot of Alex Forrest's signature tune from "Fatal Attraction (1987), Adrian Lyon"The Story is fantastic it really shows the disconnect between people in the modern day, and how the media influences everything so strongly.In Summary this movie is a great watch, and if you enjoy the genre, or just trying to put together pieces of a metaphorical puzzle you will enjoy this movie..
Gone Girl is a 2014 American psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher and adapted by Gillian Flynn from her 2012 novel of the same name.
Set in the Midwestern United States, the film's story begins as a mystery about a man, Nick Dunne (Affleck), whose wife, Amy (Pike), has gone missing, and depicts the ensuing events that arise.In Carthage, Mo., former New York-based writer Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) and his glamorous wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) present a portrait of a blissful marriage to the public.
Still, it's rather disheartening that so many people are being so dismissive of this film over trivial or even objectively incorrect perceptions of it's "weaknesses.""Gone Girl", directed by modern cinematic mastermind David Fincher, is one of the most stirring, mind-bending and thrilling mystery/dramas in years.
Elevated thanks to Fincher's expert guidance and universally incredible performances from it's expansive cast, the film is very much the perfect modern thriller, delivering enough edge-of-your seat twists to keep you enthralled and still pondering the implications of the film long after it's finished...Ben Affleck stars as Nick Dunne, a man whose seemingly "perfect" marriage has been crumbling for some time, culminating in the disappearance of his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) the morning of their fifth anniversary.
I've been increasingly interested in the duo's work, especially after their last collaboration with Fincher on the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" remake (which I will admit, I think has a slightly superior score), and they once again provide the perfect audible backdrop to the visual experience of the film.
So basically in conclusion to this thought if you are a fan of David Fincher's past work like the 2 I listed or you just like films that keep you guessing then I recommend this film to you.Although the film has good performances especially from Rosamund Pike (who definitely deserves her Oscar nod) the film isn't made to be enjoyed for its performances, it's actually made to be admired for its unpredictable and twist filled story.
The story (originating from a novel written by Gillian Flynn) is very well executed revealing just the right things at the right times to keep the story pretty much constantly unpredictable along with some rather shocking moments.This review is kind of hard for me to write because even though I really enjoyed the film through and through I just can't find the exact words I want to use to express why I enjoy it, so for that I can't guarantee all these words are useful for everyone.
Another man that left the theater behind us was actually telling people not to go in because it was a waste of time.I thought the concept was interesting, but if you stay there figuring something is going to happen soon, you're wrong.
GONE GIRLBased on the critically-acclaimed best selling novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn, here we have a thrilling, engaging picture that will keep you constantly doubting yourself just when you think you've sussed it out.The story, for those that haven't read the book, revolves around the disappearance of Nick's (Ben Affleck's) wife, Amy, with Rosamund Pike playing the titular role.
If this is what people think is good plot twists, then the IQ of movie watchers has gone down into the single digits..
If you've read Gillian Flynn's book or have seen the film, then you already know the story, but I'll spare the details just for the sake of spoilers.David Fincher has a penchant for making films that are stylistically rich, masterful in many ways, though not always exactly thematically profound.
No matter how absurd it may seem to be, we do not question it because we really aren't allowed to.Overall, "Gone Girl" is a solid thriller through and through, and is one of the best movie-going experiences I've had in recent memory.
Now Ben Affleck I thought was gonna shine over everyone, but Rosamund Pike's twisted, dark performance improves this film to a near masterpiece mystery.
This was clumsily explained with 'there has been a lot of crime lately', a lame plot contrivance among many that would increasingly litter the movie.Gone Girl never lived up to its promise and quickly descended from smart thriller to predictable whodunit, with a twist, of course, because all clichéd whodunits have to have a twist.
I gave up counting, gave up on this complete inanity after it became more and more ridiculous, less and less believable, with a host of silly plot flaws that destroyed the suspense and degenerated to a laughable conclusion.All of that money, all of those people who worked on this movie, and they couldn't put together a decent believable story?
Gone Girl starts just as good as it ends with an unforgettable bang!If you're unfamiliar with Gillian Flynn's book Gone Girl, Gone Girl is about Nick Dunne's wife (played by Rosamund Pike) who suddenly disappears one day without a trace and a subsequent search ensues.
It's a pretty basic story and premise on the surface but under the surface, the film touches on themes such as marriage, trust, perception and how we view people through the media.Gone Girl is beautifully crafted by the master of deep moody films David Fincher and that essence is present in this almost masterpiece.
It is so full of holes, and not little holes that are easy to let go, but massive, gaping, sucking black holes where some sense of logic should have prevailed but none did, that it is impossible for any person of sound mind and logic to accept all the impossible and implausible outcomes.I won't bore you with details or spoil the excruciating pain of the length of this drawn out movie that starts off interesting, shows some early promise, then gets caught up in its own plot twists that have no plausible premise, and finishes with some of the most absurd scenes and leaps of faith I can ever recall in any movie that is termed "drama".
I think he was wrong now after seeing it.It is actually a very smart film, it is good in suspense, story line, does not go down predictable lines, has the stupidity and smartness of people crafted into it, and as a thriller I thought this was good fare with a superbly manipulative character in it.It touches very well on relationships, domestic bliss, different demands, infidelity, secrets and does not paint a picture of all is easy in love.Good characters, good acting, good build up and thoroughly enjoyable film..
Finally, the ending is, if anything, even worse than the book, which, by the way, has been inexplicably well reviewed: it is trash literature.The two star, rather than one star rating, is for Kim Dickens, the only good thing in the film.Avoid this junk at all costs..
I have seldom watched a movie where the script writer took as many random shortcuts as those taken in "Gone Girl." I've seen this before when a writer -- either because of laziness, lack of talent, or time pressure -- simply has the character do something which advances the story, but without any foundation or rationale for that action.
This makes me very suspicious of the awards process.The script is so bad that, as the movie progressed, I kept thinking perhaps they had filmed the "treatment" (the script outline used to sell the movie idea) rather than an actual, finished script.By the time the movie stumbled and lurched to the final, totally unsatisfactory conclusion, I found myself almost angry at all the holes in logic and motivation, and the completely inexplicable things each of the two main characters said and did.I don't mind endings that are unexpected or unusual, but I do mind endings that feel as though the writer copped out because she lacked the creativity to come up with a much more interesting, clever, and logically consistent ending.This ending was none of those things.The only reason I gave the film two stars instead of one is that the basic production values are quite good.
I felt sick in between because of the horrible, frightening character of Amy. I can't describe it any further and think you should simply give it a try.SPOILERS!!!!I now would like to address certain plot holes many people have been pointing out.
Can we no longer appreciate - or even identify - a great film?!Gone Girl is a peerless plot-driven story about a wife who goes missing.
Nobody, not even the supporting actors, notice.Just when you think things couldn't become more contrived, psycho wife ties a ribbon round her ankle and throws some wine down her top to emulate the fact that she has been raped (?), or had a miscarriage, or just, I don't know, "Was that her favourite top she threw wine over, because she looks very upset in front of the porch camera." She then has what clearly appears to be (for the sake of the cameras), consensual sex with her ex, before cutting his throat with a box cutter and making a dramatic return to her husband, without so much as a call to the police.
Even window-putty Nick has the sense to ask "Erm, how did she cut his throat if she was tied up all the time as she claims?" "To which the uninquisitive police response is, wait for it, "Can't you just be happy your wife is home?""Yes, of course, we should invite Bundy, Manson and the Wests around and celebrate"It's good to know that all you need to do, to hoodwink the FBI is act like a damsel in distress, wrap some rope around your wrists too tightly, and re-enact a scene from Big Brother using a champagne bottle for them to forget any evidence that may implicate you in murder or conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
There is no suspense, there are no serious or intelligent twists, just a litany of idiotic contrived absurdities.Spoilers below: You clearly see what is happening in very beginning with Nick (Ben Affleck) and you pretty much know he did not kill his wife 30 minutes in.
The story just gets more and more absurd, with more illogical stupidity and unbelievable actions by other characters, which include police getting a search warrant on a house based on an "anonymous tip," Nick and his sister being apparently the dumbest people on Earth who would not move any of the loot out of the shed before the cops find it, the police engaging in the largest manhunt ever for a missing person after about 6 hours, etc.
SURPRISE: his sperm from the fertility clinic was somehow stopped by his wife from being destroyed (even though she wanted to kill him the entire time?) and she manages to get pregnant with it (without him, her husband, being alerted of this at all).And then the credits roll, and I'm left thinking "how come so many people actually like this movie"..
First of all, nobody in their right mind would believe Rosamund Pike's character after she "comes back from being kidnapped and raped" and gushes about her "loving and misunderstood husband", a story that most everyone in the general public (and the FBI, in one of the film's countless absurdities) seems to fall for, 'Gone Girl' equating the American general public and the FBI with Charlie Brown, and Pike with Lucy.2.
On the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben  Affleck) comes home to find the front door open, the glass coffee table  in the living room destroyed, and his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike),  nowhere to be found.
However, if you like a lousy crime thriller film wanna-be, this one is your very choice.I am wondering why Gone Girl is getting a pretty good score here.
You get the same thing with "Gone Girl", which is the adaptation of Gillian Flynn's bestselling novel (Flynn also wrote the screenplay) about the media circus Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) goes through once his enigmatic wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), disappears and he becomes more and more of a suspect.Now, let's get to the story.
Much noise was made initially by rabid fans of Gillian Flynn's source  novel about the casting of leads Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike as Nick  and Amy Dunne but after witnessing first hand one of the year's best  double acts by the two on form actors there will be little doubt that  the casting choices were staggeringly spot on.
It is the latter, and yet I say two stars because the story of how their lives got to the point of the disappearance is fascinating, but even while watching the movie, questions entered my mind that I just couldn't answer, even after knowing the ending.Why did Neil Patrick Harris' character show up so early in the story?
I'm a prolific author and so did I.A woman (Rosamund Pike) frames her husband (Ben Affleck) for her own murder, even though she's simply disappeared.The first part of the film is the investigation and finding out what really happened from the wife, Amy, herself; the rest of the film covers what happens as a result.Most people hated the ending, which felt ambiguous to some.
Nick is immediately suspected, but did he actually kill Amy?I did not like the book, and I do not like the movie Gone Girl.
Fincher has directed some really good films, like the Social Network and the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but this is not an epic story, and does not require a 2 ½ hour running time.