Gone Girl

And thus, it would seem, that we begin award season on October 3rd this year.

Gone Girl is the newest film in David Fincher's storied history and is the adaptation of the very well written page-turner of a novel by the same name written by Gillian Flynn (who also adapted the screenplay for the film).

I'm one of those anal people that likes to have read the book before seeing the movie, or at least I try to accomplish that feat as many times as I can. I took a break from powering through The Maze Runner series about a month ago to read this delightful book.

Maybe delightful is the wrong word...

Haunting is more like it. The book unfolds brilliantly from both main characters' perspectives, Nick Dunne and "Amazing" Amy Dunne. From a reader's perspective, the story grows on you and before you can even say "Gone Girl" you are flipping through the pages like crazy trying to see what happens next. As always, Rath's Reviews will be completely spoiler free, but let's just say that the book is a rather extreme look at relationships, marriages, and mental health. After the initial setup, the story twists and turns without really ever letting up. It's far deeper and more intriguing than what some readers (and non-readers) have balked at, calling it a "normal" crime thriller, or a wanna-be Lifetime movie.

Lifetime wishes it could be half this good.

Remember when he used to date J-Lo and was in Gigli?
My how far the fallen can rise...

Gone Girl the film is just as fantastic as the book, and perhaps, even better. It removes/decreases some of the novel's more repetitive issues to an appropriate level (the focus on "Amazing Amy", the list of previous "criminals" in Amy's past), and does a fantastic job at streamlining the whole process. That credit goes, of course, to David Fincher. I'm sure that he worked hand in hand with Flynn, but he has picked the best and most important parts of the story here in order to translate a complete novel into a complete film, without losing any of the effect. From recent memory, it's one of the more effective adaptations that I've seen in a really long time and any changes that he made to the material (which are minor, I assure you) were in the film's best interests. My largest complaint against the film, which coincidentally was also my largest complaint about the book, was the ending. It doesn't end the way you would expect it to, which usually is a good thing. I didn't take so much issue with it as other people did, but I do agree that, given the proceedings of the story, it feels to come a bit out of left field. However, I recognize the power of the ending that the author created (and ultimately the one that the director chose because they are incredibly similar) because it leaves a much more poignant, and painful, message on the topic of relationships. It's really the ending that the audience deserves for being so entranced with this insanely f**ked up story.

This is just silly. Batman would never be
getting questioned by police like this.

But aside from that truly singular complaint, the rest of the film is a masterwork of suspicion, mystery, hidden motives, questions, possible answers, and just a general sense of being pulled along on a string. It clocks in at a staggering 149 minutes, but it might have very well been the fastest 149 minutes that I've ever spent in the theater. Much like the novel, I was utterly entranced. For starters, the casting was so spot on, it's almost a wonder that these actresses and actors didn't take offense to being chosen for the roles they were. Affleck is phenomenal here and, given the amount of screen time he has, definitely one of the highlights. He captures Nick Dunne perfectly. He is a man with a lack of emotions, one who doesn't know how to display them  correctly once he gets them, and just generally a guy that it's very easy to hate and side against. Most of the rest of the cast lives ever so slightly in his shadow, but not by much. Tyler Perry, mostly known for his comedic roles, is a stand out here as the wee-bit-arrogant defense lawyer, Tanner Bolt. The one everyone will be talking about is Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne. I don't want to delve into her performance too much, as it would really lead to some spoilers, but I will say that its the best actress performance I've seen so far this year. She has to display a wide range of emotions and she does so at the drop of a pin. And...that's all I'll say! Neil Patrick Harris feels a tad out of place in the film given some of his more boisterous roles in the past, but he does fine here...I'm just not sure he was the absolute best choice for his role.

Innocent or creepy? Only the story will reveal the answer

"I swear! It's THIS long!"

Examining Gone Girl deeper leads to all the other things it does so well. The script is fantastic and Flynn deserves a lot of credit for being able to appropriately adapt her novel to film. I've already spoke about the direction of the film, but didn't touch on the cinematography, which is equally as brilliant. Characters are framed well, as are the environments that they are in. Like many other aspects of the film, there is a certain creepiness to many scenes, and a lot of that is because of the camera angles used. I also adored the original score, composed by Fincher regulars Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, which did a phenomenal job at setting the tone for most scenes and had quite a hand in leaving the audience completely speechless at times.

I'll be honest that I wasn't the biggest fan of Fincher's recent efforts with The Social Network, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. They were very well made films, there is no doubt about that. They just didn't really do it for me. I felt that Dragon Tattoo was hyper edited and that Social Network was overrated beyond belief by the time I saw it (it could also just be that I dislike Jesse Eisenberg). But Gone Girl is something very special and, at least in this critic's opinion, one of Fincher's strongest and best films in years. Given a few more months of thinking about it, I could see it creeping into my Top 10 for the year.

It will leave you baffled, uneasy, thrilled, entertained, and just genuinely worried that you may not know your significant other half as well as you think you do.

Best of luck to all of those seeing it as a date movie!

CONS:

• I still have some issues with the ending, which is pretty much unchanged from the book. On one hand it works fantastically as almost a punishment for the audience and a statement on the main topic of the book. But the vindictive part of me would have liked to see some justice
• I question whether Neil Patrick Harris was really the best choice for his role. He did fine, but given the stellar casting of the other characters, his seemed off
• I think that a few of the changes to the story create some very slight plot holes

PROS:

• An "amazing" adaptation of the source material. This is a complete story that has been expertly crafted from the pages of the novel. All of the important themes, twists, tones, and dialogue is present and the film breezes along for an incredibly swift 149 minutes. Big credit goes to Fincher and Flynn for working together to find the best way to tell this story in the cinematic medium
• Fantastic script that is often darkly comedic
• Great direction by Fincher
• Biting commentary on how s****y and judgmental the media is on a consistent basis
• Equally as strong commentary on how feeble minded and easily persuaded the public is by the media
• Well done cinematography throughout
• Stellar performances by the complete cast. Affleck shines bright in his central role and Pike will get an Oscar nod easily. Whoever did the casting for the film deserves a raise
• A haunting original score that is, to date, the best of the year
• The tone of the film is impeccable. There is the typical air of mystery, but as an audience member you feel, in your gut, that something is wrong. Something is off. And that's half the fun. Gone Girl has its own, unique dose of "Movie Magic"

Rath's Review Score: 9/10