Gone Girl - Analysis and Review

Marriage...

It's been a while since I reviewed a film. It has also been a while since I reviewed a David Fincher film. This should be interesting....

The Plot

When Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) comes home after contemplating a decision he has to make, he finds his wife, Amy Elliot Dunne (Rosamund Pike), is missing. Not only that, but signs of a struggle are evident in the home. With Amy's family, law enforcement, and the media wrapping themselves around this disappearance, the evidence starts to point to Nick as the prime suspect for her vanishing. Or perhaps, her murder.

Analysis

If there is one thing in this film that works wonderfully well, it is the portrayal of the media. Being a film student who has to go through some television and broadcast, I know how the news operates. Especially when it comes to stories like this. Our mission is not to tell the truth, our mission is to show the facts. How we choose to show those facts and what we think of them is completely up to us, the media. "If it bleeds, it leads." That's the motto behind it. 

It is a disgusting truth about how journalism works. And I know that journalists are always about finding the truth, yet I know ideal intentions of being a truthful journalist can easily be shattered. That is not the type of world that we live in. Yet we have the media as our voice of truth. There is a reason why we watch the news because that is where the truth is suppose to lie. That is only half true. Yet this film also displays how easy it is for the media to influence people into believing what the truth is. 

The media is powerful. It is neither a force for good, nor a force for justice. It wants to believe it is, but there is no way it can be.

But it is still powerful.

Review

I don't exactly know how to review this film. Mainly because to talk too much about it would be a great disservice. So all I can say is this: The cast of the movie is incredible!

Ben Affleck delivers an extremely subdued performance, and I do mean really subdued performance. His portrayal as Nick is probably one of the most difficult performances to critique. Mainly because some would say that he doesn't steal the show. But the thing is, he's not suppose to. Part of this movie is for him trying to not stand out, trying not to do anything wrong. In other words: become invisible. He does that. And yes, there are moments when his performance elevates, especially once the first act is gone. But I'm just letting you, reader, know this. He's suppose to not stand out. It is part of the character, and he does it brilliantly. This is a guy who just wants to be left alone in order to focus on what is happening to him, but he gets constantly thrown into the spotlight. It is a terrific portrayal that may not put people at ease that he's the new Batman. But believe me, if he can do this, he can play Batman.

Then of course there is the supporting cast. You may not have heard of her, but Carrie Coon is a name you should know. She portrays Nick's sister, who has to help him through these tumultuous times. The chemistry between her and Affleck does feel like a genuine brother and sister relationship. She really delves in to how a family member would act in this situation. As secrets begin to unfold, Coon convinces the audience that no matter what is discovered, she will stand by her brother. She's the one thing that not only keeps Nick sane throughout the whole ordeal, but keeps the audience sane as well.

There is also Tyler Perry and Neil Patrick Harris. Perry plays Nick's Defense Attorney, while Harris plays someone connected to Amy's past. Perry shows that in the hands of a capable director, himself not included, he is a true acting force. That man sold me as a suave and highly intelligent attorney who can easily predict how the media will play things out. He's a master strategist, and Perry will make you believe he is. Harris on the other hand is kind of jarring. He doesn't do a bad performance, he's a phenomenal actor, but there was something about him being in the movie that seems to have stood out. Like he doesn't belong there, while at the same time he does. I guess it works well with his character as this extremely rich man who has all the pretty toys, but his presence was just jarring. Again, he's still incredible, it's just a little weird seeing him in this movie.

There are many others in this film who are great. Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit are great as the detectives on the case. Though Fugit's character does come off as one note detective who only thinks that Nick is guilty. Dickens' character is the one Detective who does grow in the film, but as this is not a true detective story it is clear that we won't see the extent of that growth. Then there is Missi Pyle as an obvious satire on Nancy Grace. She is the embodiment of the media and how it manipulates information to get a rise out of people. She does this exceptionally well. Hell, even the girl from the notorious Blurred Lines music video, Emily Ratajkowski, gives a fine performance despite being in the film for only four small moments and topless in two of them. That is the sign of an incredible director when everyone in the film from large roles to small roles are all incredible as a whole.

But then there is someone I'm missing. That is the other lead of this film. The titular Gone Girl, Amy Elliot Dunne played by Rosamund Pike. This is HER movie. This is THE movie that will get her the recognition she deserves. This is the movie that may get her an academy award. She is the standout of this film. The whole movie revolves around her character and her disappearance. There are so many layers to this missing woman, layers that by the end of the film may even make you question your own significant other. This is her best role, and will hopefully get rid of that stigma of her being a Bond Girl in the final Pierce Brosnan Bond film. I don't know how to explain or give you a reason why she is incredible. The only way for you to know, is to see the movie yourself.

If there is a negative for the film I will say that there are times that the film feels like it drags. But here is the strange part. Even though it drags, especially with a runtime of 2 hours and 25 minutes, for some reason you want more. You don't want it to end. You want it to keep going. So you're trapped in this feeling of, "this movie is too long," and "I want more!" So it is strange that a movie can actually make me feel this way. Because I did feel the drag, but at the same time I wasn't bored. It is strange that I didn't want this to end. Even when I thought it was ending, I was relieved it didn't. Yet at the same time I wished it did. It a strange thing. But still definitely worth a watch.

Final Thoughts

This is definitely a David Fincher film. Everything about this movie has his signature on it. And it delivers on all fronts. Every single person in this film is perfectly casted for their roles, even though Neil Patrick Harris does not visually fit into the film he is still incredible. There is that feeling of it dragging on, but it never feels boring. This is a movie that will definitely be talked about for the rest of the year and all the way to the Oscars. Go see this film. And bring a date...if you want to break up with that person after the movie.

SCORE: 8.9/10 - There is that feeling of drag, but other than that, this film is incredible.