Excellent skewering of Nancy Grace in particular, the media in general and the mass public who consume real life dramas as if they're soap operas with good guys and bad guys.
David Fincher has become really very good at laying out mystery thrillers in between Zodiac and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Gone Girl benefits from that growing expertise. I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't seen it or read the book, but it's about a woman's disappearance and possible murder for which her husband is implicated. Did he do it, and if so what exactly did he do? Or is he innocent and if so, whodunit? The film expertly opens up several possibilities, leads you down blind alleys, doubles back, keeping your interest through it's admittedly longish 2½ hours thanks to a good number of twists. Underrated Ben Affleck and justly high-rated Rosamund Pike are excellent at presenting the dysfunctional couple, and I'm a big fan of Tremé's Kim Dickens as the detective, but sadly, Neil Patrick Harris' casting seems a misstep to me. He's a good actor, and appropriate for the role he plays, but it's somehow too close to How I Met Your Mother's Barney not to get some laughs. At one point I thought THIS was how HIMYM really ended. Distracting. But a minor thing. In Gone Girl, Fincher not only creates a successful and twisted thriller, but if you're not a fan of the filthy, decaying look he usually gives his films, something a lot cleaner and prettier.
Interesting how the same director who made Zodiac (the true story of an inquisitive cartoonist attempting to unmask the Zodiac Killer) manages to make a film in which an inquisitive detective
"Spoilers" will follow.
Not because of plot twists, though, as awareness of these should never affect a good movie more than knowledge about secret ingredients should affect your favorite cocktail. A good movie, which happens to have a "plot twist", should benefit from this knowledge upon repeat viewings. The knowledge should add a little something to the understanding of it all, rather than simply provide a cheap thrill, an unwarranted sense of danger.
Finally, and most importantly, knowing the twist, would you seriously considering going through it all again?
Think Sunset Blvd. vs The Usual Suspects.
No. This is a warning about the breed of fans this movie is likely to inspire: The "spoilers", as I'll call them, are the ones who are simply thrilled at plot twists. The ones who take joy in having their superficial expectations thwarted, regardless of the underlying reasons, and then can't help themselves in wanting to conquer the skeptics and IMDb all at once. The ones who'd think Star Wars had little more to offer, if you told them about the incest.
Anyway, the movie is decent; it's well shot, well acted and the soundtrack is efficient. Nevertheless, the story is more thrill-seeking, than interesting, and thus leaves all of the exciting areas unexplored. Even more infuriating, though, is spending 80% of the film wondering why the police does not fingerprint the excessively bought goods, because, who really moves a container shipment of electronics to a woodshed without leaving fingerprints, or, unwrapping anything? And why don't they meticulously go through all the surveillance tapes which obviously can't be flawlessly produced? This is never really explained.
But there's one thing we know, one thing we aren't allowed to overlook. Her insanity.
Yes, she's obviously psychotic. We get it. Move the fuck on, please. We should never be satisfied with such a simple statement of "facts", but rather demand an exploration of the "truth" - however transient and abstract it may be.
Where is the exploration of the clearly influential childhood of projection upon Amazing Amy and thereby living completely sheltered by one's own perfect doppelgänger? Of the relationship between fact and fiction? Between the writers and their creations? Between danger and safety of assimilation/blending-in? Concepts which directors such as De Palma or Cronenberg would have absolutely reveled in.
Most of these interesting ideas, however, are glanced over or served up superficially as in the simple, often explored, juxtaposition of popular media and private life - where this film again has little new to offer. Other times, they are merely evoked to entice the spoiler soldiers with "shocking" twists and turns. Many of which are following basic formulas, such as the tried-and-true "setup and recount from a different view", the ambiguous leads, and the untrustworthy narrator. All of these are dead give-aways to the spoiled moviegoer who immediately recognizes the signs and thereby isn't enslaved by the twists and turns which have some people blinded.
Although, admittedly, the film does excel in some of these practices, it still only manages to end on a note of; "Bitch be cray… What will happen to poor Baffman?", rather than exploring the shared insanity of the protagonists, the media and the human race.
6/10 - Aside from the acting and soundtrack, this film has little cinematic value and just comes across as a generic pulp story elegantly executed.
The public has a short memory for the news cycle, but Gone Girl is mostly just Gillian Flynn's devil's advocate version of the Scott Peterson case.
She should write a sequel, where a diabolical Naomi White Sampson stabs Rob Silverman and herself to death to frame her basketball star husband B.J. Sampson.
Shoot, "B.J." is still around. He could play himself in the Hollywood movie.
I Skipped the book, didn't knew nothing about this, no trailers, no information about this movie, that s the better way of seeing this movie.
Love, love this movie, it is on my top 5 favourites movies of Fincher.
Rosamund Pike is going to be nominated, great performance,
Ben Affleck's best performance till today, the supporting cast was excellent, the only movie with Tyler Perry worthy of watching.
The passing of the movie was excellent for a two and a half hours length.
Up to a point, a competent - even thrilling - Missing Persons thriller. Has some things to say about media sensationalism and bias, but goes badly off the rails in the second half. The ending is a train wreck: it's like Fincher couldn't figure out an ending, so he just faded to the credits.
Fincher, in his brilliantly engaging Fincher style, with a great Affleck and a soaring Pike, combine equal parts Ballet Marriage and Modern Jazz Death and from this mixture choreograph a very universal Dance Macabré.(just a metaphor, it's not a dance flick) In this artful adaptation (author helped rewrite) of a best-seller, the dramatic element is playfully used, almost paradoxically, to render our concept of the institute of marriage less opaque, or more grounded. Many other elements are interwoven, but the characters truly serve as the solid foundation. As Fincher himself noted in the Playboy interview, they are;
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Comments 1 - 15 of 55
Kenneth McMahon
Excellent skewering of Nancy Grace in particular, the media in general and the mass public who consume real life dramas as if they're soap operas with good guys and bad guys.ThomasFTB
That was ridiculous. But great. But RIDICULOUS. But GREAT. But ridiculous.Toudou
Fine movie but I really, really hate the way it ends.Tezelian
This movie was always one step ahead of what I expected or thought was going to happen.Nilsmedskills
Plot holes galore...Siskoid
David Fincher has become really very good at laying out mystery thrillers in between Zodiac and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Gone Girl benefits from that growing expertise. I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't seen it or read the book, but it's about a woman's disappearance and possible murder for which her husband is implicated. Did he do it, and if so what exactly did he do? Or is he innocent and if so, whodunit? The film expertly opens up several possibilities, leads you down blind alleys, doubles back, keeping your interest through it's admittedly longish 2½ hours thanks to a good number of twists. Underrated Ben Affleck and justly high-rated Rosamund Pike are excellent at presenting the dysfunctional couple, and I'm a big fan of Tremé's Kim Dickens as the detective, but sadly, Neil Patrick Harris' casting seems a misstep to me. He's a good actor, and appropriate for the role he plays, but it's somehow too close to How I Met Your Mother's Barney not to get some laughs. At one point I thought THIS was how HIMYM really ended. Distracting. But a minor thing. In Gone Girl, Fincher not only creates a successful and twisted thriller, but if you're not a fan of the filthy, decaying look he usually gives his films, something a lot cleaner and prettier.Eddyspeeder
Interesting how the same director who made Zodiac (the true story of an inquisitive cartoonist attempting to unmask the Zodiac Killer) manages to make a film in which an inquisitive detectiveMarkE89
"Spoilers" will follow.Not because of plot twists, though, as awareness of these should never affect a good movie more than knowledge about secret ingredients should affect your favorite cocktail. A good movie, which happens to have a "plot twist", should benefit from this knowledge upon repeat viewings. The knowledge should add a little something to the understanding of it all, rather than simply provide a cheap thrill, an unwarranted sense of danger.
Finally, and most importantly, knowing the twist, would you seriously considering going through it all again?
Think Sunset Blvd. vs The Usual Suspects.
No. This is a warning about the breed of fans this movie is likely to inspire: The "spoilers", as I'll call them, are the ones who are simply thrilled at plot twists. The ones who take joy in having their superficial expectations thwarted, regardless of the underlying reasons, and then can't help themselves in wanting to conquer the skeptics and IMDb all at once. The ones who'd think Star Wars had little more to offer, if you told them about the incest.
Anyway, the movie is decent; it's well shot, well acted and the soundtrack is efficient. Nevertheless, the story is more thrill-seeking, than interesting, and thus leaves all of the exciting areas unexplored. Even more infuriating, though, is spending 80% of the film wondering why the police does not fingerprint the excessively bought goods, because, who really moves a container shipment of electronics to a woodshed without leaving fingerprints, or, unwrapping anything? And why don't they meticulously go through all the surveillance tapes which obviously can't be flawlessly produced? This is never really explained.
But there's one thing we know, one thing we aren't allowed to overlook. Her insanity.
Yes, she's obviously psychotic. We get it. Move the fuck on, please. We should never be satisfied with such a simple statement of "facts", but rather demand an exploration of the "truth" - however transient and abstract it may be.
Where is the exploration of the clearly influential childhood of projection upon Amazing Amy and thereby living completely sheltered by one's own perfect doppelgänger? Of the relationship between fact and fiction? Between the writers and their creations? Between danger and safety of assimilation/blending-in? Concepts which directors such as De Palma or Cronenberg would have absolutely reveled in.
Most of these interesting ideas, however, are glanced over or served up superficially as in the simple, often explored, juxtaposition of popular media and private life - where this film again has little new to offer. Other times, they are merely evoked to entice the spoiler soldiers with "shocking" twists and turns. Many of which are following basic formulas, such as the tried-and-true "setup and recount from a different view", the ambiguous leads, and the untrustworthy narrator. All of these are dead give-aways to the spoiled moviegoer who immediately recognizes the signs and thereby isn't enslaved by the twists and turns which have some people blinded.
Although, admittedly, the film does excel in some of these practices, it still only manages to end on a note of; "Bitch be cray… What will happen to poor Baffman?", rather than exploring the shared insanity of the protagonists, the media and the human race.
6/10 - Aside from the acting and soundtrack, this film has little cinematic value and just comes across as a generic pulp story elegantly executed.
Earring72
Gripping, well acted and directed, twisted thriller drama thats a bit overlong and I didn't like the ending. But good watch.greenhorg
The public has a short memory for the news cycle, but Gone Girl is mostly just Gillian Flynn's devil's advocate version of the Scott Peterson case.She should write a sequel, where a diabolical Naomi White Sampson stabs Rob Silverman and herself to death to frame her basketball star husband B.J. Sampson.
Shoot, "B.J." is still around. He could play himself in the Hollywood movie.
CorPse
The pure id of marriage.Joker of Gotham
I Skipped the book, didn't knew nothing about this, no trailers, no information about this movie, that s the better way of seeing this movie.Love, love this movie, it is on my top 5 favourites movies of Fincher.
Rosamund Pike is going to be nominated, great performance,
Ben Affleck's best performance till today, the supporting cast was excellent, the only movie with Tyler Perry worthy of watching.
The passing of the movie was excellent for a two and a half hours length.
4.75/5
Duke of Omnium
Up to a point, a competent - even thrilling - Missing Persons thriller. Has some things to say about media sensationalism and bias, but goes badly off the rails in the second half. The ending is a train wreck: it's like Fincher couldn't figure out an ending, so he just faded to the credits.252
Fincher, in his brilliantly engaging Fincher style, with a great Affleck and a soaring Pike, combine equal parts Ballet Marriage and Modern Jazz Death and from this mixture choreograph a very universal Dance Macabré.(just a metaphor, it's not a dance flick) In this artful adaptation (author helped rewrite) of a best-seller, the dramatic element is playfully used, almost paradoxically, to render our concept of the institute of marriage less opaque, or more grounded. Many other elements are interwoven, but the characters truly serve as the solid foundation. As Fincher himself noted in the Playboy interview, they are;"...irredeemable and yet intensely human."
http://www.playboy.com/articles/playboy-interview-david-fincher
4.5/5
danisanna
Slow to start but good in the end. Fucked up story lolShowing items 1 – 15 of 55