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Gone Girl (2014)
Daniel's Review
'Gone Girl’ is based off the novel, with the same name, written by Gillian Flynn, who also wrote the screenplay to this movie, which is a rarity for a novel writer to also write the screenplay to a movie, the only other film I can think of is 2012’s ‘The Perks of Being A Wallflower’.
‘Gone Girl’ is directed by David Fincher, which he is also the director of one of my favourite drama films of all-time ‘The Social Network’, among other great films.
The film revolves one morning when Nick (Ben Affleck) discovers his wife has been missing, which sets up the film and the plot that follows this horrifying morning, which is all I will say, go into this movie without knowing anything about it.
The acting is great, with an all-star cast, including Tyler Perry, Rosamund Pike and Neil Patrick Harris.
‘Gone Girl’ explores several messages, including the media’s manipulation that is conveyed and explored quite excellently.
While the first half-an-hour is a bit slow-paced and the film is a bit too long, but after the first half-an-hour the film gets interesting and is actually quite hard to watch at times. ‘
Gone Girl’ is a good drama-thriller film and should be a favourite for awards season, later in the year.
Score: 7.9/10
Published: October 6th, 2014
Details
Review
Release Date: October 2nd, 2014
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Runtime: 149 mins
Rated: MA15+
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Nic's Review
David Fincher's latest film only further cements his status among the pantheon of great directors.
'Gone Girl' is a phenomenal film. It manages to be incredibly powerful and confronting and endlessly intriguing, no doubt due to the superb level of detail gone into ensuring every shot is perfect, from the cinematography to the lighting to the score to the acting.
The story takes a well-worn genre, the murder mystery/crime genre, and twists it inside out until it's unrecognisable. Without giving away too much, the type of film you sit down to watch is not necessarily the one you'll be discussing at the end. And you will want to discuss it. Not many films inspire as much debate and discussion around its narrative as 'Gone Girl'. Perhaps it owes a lot of its sublime narrative cues to the novel upon which it is based, but there is no mistaking that this is a David Fincher film.
Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike are great actors in general but Fincher truly brings out the best of them. These are career-best performances from everyone involved in the film, including supporting actors Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry, who are perhaps better known for their comedic styles than drama. Pike is the standout though and plays such a complex, 3-dimensional Amy Dunne that it becomes hard to separate her from the character she plays.
Then there's the lighting and camerawork, which links perfectly with the tone of each act.
'Gone Girl's soundtrack, too, is spine-crawlingly sinister, and acts as a recurring motif throughout the film. In fact, it's almost impossible to see a flaw in Fincher's latest masterpiece.
While the pacing of the film could have been improved, as the tone of each act transition so abruptly it can be confusing initially, it's the ending of the film which will divide opinion the most. That said, this is anecdotally the case with the book too, so if it's a flaw, it may not be all Fincher's fault.
Regardless, 'Gone Girl' is the definition of a must-see film. Its engrossing drama hooks you from the beginning and doesn't ever let go, even after the credits roll. Its narrative meanderings will be debated for years to come and that's the way it should be.
Watch out, Hollywood, David Fincher has arrived to show you how filmmaking's done.
Score: 9.4/10