GONE GIRL (R)
Review by Adam Mast
Talking about GONE GIRL without getting into spoiler territory is no easy task, so I’ll do my best, but be warned that parts of this piece will clue you in as to what this bat-shit crazy collaboration between director David Fincher and author Gillian Flynn is really about.
In GONE GIRL Ben Affleck is Nick Dunne, a successful man whose life is turned into a media frenzy after he reports the disappearance of his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), to the authorities. The disappearance occurs on the day of their fifth wedding anniversary, and this doesn’t sit well with the officers assigned to the case (Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit). As deceitful truths are slowly revealed, the question as to whether or not Nick murdered his wife comes into focus.
Firstly, the marketing campaign for GONE GIRL is pretty brilliant, because the trailers and commercials, while effective, don’t really tell you what this movie is truly about. If you’ve read the book, you’re already clued in. For the rest of you, expect the unexpected.
GONE GIRL offers up a mystery reminiscent of something like PRESUMED INNOCENT, but with its fragmented story of a disintegrating marriage, this film is wrapped up in the stark melancholy of BLUE VALENTINE and REVOLUTIONARY ROAD. Or is it? Just when you think you have the tone of this thing figured out, GONE GIRL hits you over the head with the shrewd satire and pitch-black humor of Martin Scorsese’s THE WOLF OF WALL STREET and Danny DeVito’s WAR OF THE ROSES.
Simply put, GONE GIRL has a lot on its mind. It’s an ugly, nasty bit of business and it doesn’t have a whole lot of nice things to say about the institution of marriage. In fact, GONE GIRL is sort of a hyper-real look at what it takes to make any relationship work.
Some will be quick to argue that GONE GIRL is incredibly misogynistic. Keep in mind, though, that while many of the women in this picture are portrayed as either psychotic or manipulative, it should be noted that the men in Flynn’s world aren’t much better. In fact, most of the characters in GONE GIRL are completely self serving.
Affleck is quite good here, which is surprising because, quite frankly, he’s proven to be a far superior director than an actor. As Nick, Affleck exudes a boyish charm, but as the layers are peeled away, it’s clear that this is a man with a whole lot of flaws, and Affleck pulls it off in what might be his best work as an actor. As “Amazing” Amy, Pike owns GONE GIRL in a big way, although I’m reluctant to dig deep and tell you why. Let’s just say that she’s bigger than life in a myriad of ways. All the performances in GONE GIRL are solid right across the board, and Fincher has slyly cast a handful of actors against type. Neil Patrick Harris is fantastic as Amy’s scorned ex-lover, while Tyler Perry hits all the right notes as a hot-shot attorney who, while good at what he does, appears to be more interested in the spotlight than his client.
It’s a true testament to Fincher’s meticulous ability as a director that he could take all of this cynicism, ugliness, and black comedy and turn it into a twisty-turvy slice of grand, perverse, mesmerizing entertainment. I have absolutely no doubt that GONE GIRL is going to turn a lot of people off in the same way that THE WOLF OF WALL STREET did last year, but personally, I found it to be hypnotic, incredibly well-made, and darkly funny. And for the record, I love my wife.
