Since 2012, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl has fueled conversations, telling the story of a man who falls under the scrutiny of his town and the media for his possible involvement in the disappearance of his wife. That is indeed the basic plot but the reality is far more intricate and compelling.
Flynn’s work proves to be an perfect match for director David Fincher (The Social Network, Fight Club) who also collaborated on the screenplay. Nick (Ben Affleck) and Amy (Rosamund Pike) are a couple who after meeting and falling in love in New York now reside in Nick’s hometown in Missouri, having returned there to care for his dying mother. After five years of marriage and both losing their jobs, their relationship has soured. Nick, a former journalist, now teaches at a local college and used Amy’s trust fund to purchase a bar which he runs with his twin sister Margo (Carrie Coon). Amy seems to fill her days reading with little connection to her husband or new home.
On the day of their fifth wedding anniversary, Amy goes missing. There are signs of a disturbance in the home: a shattered table and splash of blood. Amy’s parents launch a campaign to find their daughter, their inspiration for a series of children’s books called “Amazing Amy” and play to their celebrity status to gain national attention. Soon, evidence mounts suggesting Nick played a part in her apparent murder while the suspect himself begins to find that the reality of Amy’s disappearance may not be so clear-cut.
Gone Girl isn’t so much about Nick finding his wife but about finding out who she really is. As the mystery of Amy’s disappearance deepens so does our knowledge of their relationship, glimpses at their past told with narration from each of the couple exquisitely setting up, from each of their perspectives, their perfect beginnings to the present where things are not so rosy. The anniversary tradition of a treasure hunt, set up by Amy, leads the police on a path to scrutinizing the couple’s relationship. As Amy’s minor celebrity status draws in the media crowd, truths are twisted and judgments made. Nick’s fidelity leading to other assumptions about his character. Manipulation is a key theme for the film, be it by a loved one, by those in a position of power or by those with a voice, notably the tabloid media. Society is quick to slap a label on people and equally quick to change their perception too, Gone Girl is David Fincher’s critique of that flaw. Innocent before being proven guilty seemingly abandoned in favor of ratings wars, the pursuit of scandal and the repugnant relishing of tragedy by the media and their readers.
The aforementioned voiceovers and flashbacks are an incredibly well handled part of this critique and indeed the whole film. A clever device to fill in the audience, but also a warning how you cannot necessarily trust one person’s recounting of a tale. There are three sides to every story after all; yours, theirs, and the truth. Even by the end of the film, the truth is still somewhat blurred. Gone Girl is expertly constructed, misleading by intent. The point of view skews your perception to show how easily people are swayed. Flipping perspective to surprise and draw you deeper, a certain gesture in one flashback carrying different overtones in another. The film is incredibly adept at the manipulation of audience sympathy and transferring its internal constructs onto them, playing on your emotions, crafting characters that you can flip from eliciting despising to feeling sympathy for.
Gone Girl explores modern relationships and gender roles expertly. Depending on perspective, Amy is virtuous and self-sacrificing for her husband, who in turn is unappreciative of her efforts, likewise Nick has been molded by Amy. They have pushed each other to strive to fit an ideal forged by society’s standards. Marriage is often where these perfect facades crack and break down; perfection gives way to reality, the lies we tell to maintain balance and harmony to ourselves and our partner sometimes undermining that very thing we seek to preserve. Can we live with a lie if it is critical to a relationship’s survival? There is an ambiguity in the film about who truly is responsible, and who is the victim. What is to be applauded is that the author and Fincher have brought such a layer of truth to a representation of modern relationships, even if it is wrapped up within a rather stretched Machiavellian scheme.
Gone Girl shows many of Fincher’s trademarks; wide shots, a stillness to the camera. A chillness and serenity permeate the film, but tension and anxiety always lurk beneath; punctuations of outbursts and violence confirm it. Also black humor wrapped up in duplicitousness perhaps forged out of Fincher’s most recent project, House of Cards. The score by Reznor and Ross is also very apt, effectively chilling and again lending a disturbing note where appropriate. There is a perverseness that Gone Girl may be the most fun movie Fincher has made despite how it dabbles with such dark themes.
As ever, Fincher has cast his film with distinction. From the two lead roles on which much of the movie rests, to the smaller supporting ones who often do much to lighten up proceedings. Affleck, often underrated or unchallenged in his roles, is excellent as the weary everyman who is clearly out of his depth in his understanding of both his wife and the public. Every sigh, every smile, every slumped shoulder, elicits the perfect emotional response. Rosamund Pike has done solid work in a variety of films, but this is a role that really showcases and pushes her talents. Her Amy is utterly mesmerizing, going from icy allure to repellant manipulator, but always audacious and captivating. Again, it is not always the words spoken by the pair but the mannerisms and body language that make their work so compelling,
Other standouts include Tyler Perry as the media-savvy defense lawyer Affleck hires to defend him and Carrie Coon impresses as Nick’s twin Margo, offering up a splash of no-nonsense honesty and sense her brother seems to lack. Deft direction and skilled writing married to these accomplished performances elevate Gone Girl from guilty pleasure to a taut and expertly crafted film that entertains was well as it engrosses.
The only thing that exceeds how superbly Gone Girl is built is how well it unfolds. It is a film that on the surface could have been a Lifetime movie of the week but instead is crafted by Fincher to be a deftly layered, trashy delight as well as an engrossing commentary on deception and relationships. Compelling work from a filmmaker on top of his game.
Gone Girl is released on October 3rd, 2014.